China's yuan eases as industrial profits tumble, awaits trade talks

HONG KONG: The yuan slipped on Wednesday after data showed the sharpest contraction in China's industrial profits since late 2011, but losses were capped by caution ahead of the resumption of Sino-U.S. trade talks.

Pointing to further trouble for the world's second-largest economy, profits of industrial firms in January-February slumped 14.0 percent year-on-year due largely to weaker prices, though a stastistics official attributed some of the drop to seasonal factors.

The weak data comes as United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin prepare for a fresh round of talks with Chinese officials in Beijing starting on Thursday.

Expectations for a trade breakthrough are low, with a report this week suggesting that China is not yielding to U.S. demands to curb technology companies.

Uncertainty over both economic data and trade kept the yuan within a tight range of 72 basis points on Wednesday.\ Spot yuan was trading at 6.7159 at midday, 9 pips weaker than the previous late session close and 0.03 percent softer than the midpoint.

The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.7141 per dollar prior to market open, weaker than the previous fix of 6.7042.

"We're just waiting for the trade talks," said a Shanghai-based trader with an Asian bank.

"The market does not have a consensus on the renminbi at all," said a forex sales banker in Hong Kong, using another term for the yuan. "Opinion is also very mixed about the Chinese economy."

The global dollar index was up 0.2 percent at 96.913 after U.S. yields rose on recovering investor appetite.

But the greenback's gains did not translate into pressure on the yuan because investors expect a curency clause in any final U.S.-China trade agreement, which would cap yuan depreciation pressure, said the Hong Kong-based banker.

The offshore yuan was trading 0.11 percent weaker than the onshore spot at 6.7230 per dollar, up 0.01 percent from the previous close.

The Thomson Reuters/HKEX Global CNH index, which tracks the offshore yuan against a basket of currencies on a daily basis, stood at 95.54, firmer than the previous day's 95.38.