China's yuan ended slightly lower against the dollar on Thursday, offsetting a record high fixing, underlining market scepticism that China will accelerate Chinese currency gains after the Hu-Obama meeting. US President Barack Obama urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to let the value of China's yuan currency rise, but the Chinese leader was quiet on the currency at a news conference in Washington.
The mid-point hit record highs three times this week. But the rises have been tiny, a mere eight pips higher, showing the PBOC has no intention of cutting the yuan loose, traders said. Dealers said that the yuan's slight fall was also caused by major state-owned firms or investors buying dollars for their own requirements.
The yuan; in the spot market closed at 6.5854 per dollar, down slightly from Wednesday's 6.5824, after China's central bank set the daily mid-point for the yuan at a record high of 6.5883, only two pips up from Wednesday's 6.5885. The yuan has risen 3.66 percent since its mid-June depegging. Benchmark one-year dollar/yuan NDFs; were bid at 6.4720, little changed from Wednesday's close of 6.4600. Their implied yuan appreciation in a year's time fell slightly to 1.80 percent from Wednesday's 1.99 percent.