The yuan closed two pips lower versus the dollar on Thursday, consolidating its gains, as the People's Bank of China fixed the mid-point a shade weaker after letting it hit a slew of record highs recently. Spot yuan closed at 6.4759 versus the dollar on Thursday, down from 6.4757 at the close on Wednesday when it hit a record intraday trading high of 6.4755.
The Chinese currency has now appreciated 5.41 percent since it was depegged from the dollar in June 2010, and 1.76 percent since the start of this year. Before trade began, the PBOC set the yuan's daily mid-point at 6.4830 on the dollar, slightly weaker than Wednesday's record high of 6.4795. It uses the mid-point to guide the currency. Offshore, one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) were bid at 6.3890 in late trade, up from Wednesday's close of 6.3700. Their implied yuan appreciation in a year's time eased to 1.47 percent from 1.77 percent.