SHANGHAI: China’s yuan eased against the greenback on Friday to resume a marked downward trend in place since mid-June, pulled lower by broad dollar strength in the wake of some hawkish Federal Reserve commentary and higher US inflation.
Spot yuan opened at 6.7970 per dollar and was last trading at 6.8022 as of 0231 GMT, 32 pips lower than the previous late session close.
“We reiterate our caution that CNH may still trade on the back foot in the near term if the US dollar bullish momentum persists,” OCBC strategists said in a note.
Onshore yuan is down 0.45 percent against the dollar for the week, poised to log its largest weekly loss since early March. For June thus far, it has lost 0.54 percent, on track for its worst monthly performance since a 0.7 percent drop in December 2024.
Prior to the market opening, the People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.8166 per dollar, 151 pips weaker than a Reuters’ estimate. Spot yuan is allowed to trade 2 percent either side of the fixed midpoint each day.
Offshore yuan traded at 6.8062 yuan per dollar, down about 0.05 percent in Asian trade.