Yuan steady against dollar

SHANGHAI: The yuan held steady on Tuesday against the US dollar, with analysts saying the fragile currency would stand up to the central bank’s cut in key interest rates, as traders await US data this week to gauge the Federal Reserve’s policy path.

China surprised markets on Monday by lowering a string of major short and long-term interest rates, in an effort to boost growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

Analysts said the cuts would not hurt the yuan as the central bank could use tools such as official guidance to avoid disorderly depreciation.

Spot yuan opened at 7.2722 per dollar and was last trading 2 pips lower than the previous late session close at 7.2738 by 0259 GMT, down 1.97% from the midpoint.