China's major state-owned banks were seen buying US dollars at around 6.4 yuan in the Asian afternoon in a move viewed as an effort to cool the rally in the onshore yuan, sources said.
Cryptocurrencies were volatile after suffering one of their biggest losses on Wednesday in the wake of China's decision to ban financial and payment institutions from providing digital currency services.
Elsewhere, the Australian and New Zealand dollars eased slightly as the Antipodeans struggled to break through heavy technical resistance, but sentiment remains positive due to rising commodity prices, some traders said.