The Chinese yuan in the offshore market steadied on Friday as shares in Hong Kong and mainland China rallied strongly for a second straight day following a slew of support measures from Beijing over the past week. In early trades on Friday, offshore yuan strengthened to 6.2158 per dollar from previous close at 6.2169, up 0.02 percent. For the week, the offshore currency is set to depreciate 0.12 percent if it closes at the midday level as sentiment towards the Chinese currency was hurt by a more than 30-percent crash of the mainland stock market in less than four weeks.
On Friday, the spot yuan was flat against the dollar after the central bank set an almost unchanged guidance rate. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.1153 per dollar prior to market open, unchanged from the previous fix at 6.1151. The spot market opened at 6.2077 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.2089 at midday, barely moved from the previous close. The currency is likely to continue trading in a narrow range in the short term, traders forecast. The offshore yuan was trading down 0.11 percent away from the onshore spot by midday.