China's yuan was steady against the dollar on Friday after the central bank fixed a little changed guidance rate and it was set to show a marginal loss for the week. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.1196 per dollar before the market opened, up 0.01 percent from the previous fix at 6.1202. The spot market opened at 6.2017 per dollar and the yuan was changing hands at 6.2014 at midday, barely changed from the previous close.
The currency is heading for a weekly loss of 0.06 percent if it ends the day at the midday level. The yuan has been quite steady in recent months as authorities have pledged to maintain the stability of the currency since mid-March. While dollar demand has been rising, driven by the global strength of the greenback and the weakness of the Chinese economy, state-owned banks have come to the market to sell dollars to support the yuan on behalf of the central bank, traders said. As such, traders forecast the yuan could continue to trade between 6.18 and 6.22 per dollar in the short term. The offshore yuan was trading 0.04 percent weaker than the onshore spot rate at 6.2037 per dollar by midday.