Chinese yuan consolidated against the dollar on Friday but still set a fresh post-revaluation, intra-day high for the fourth straight day. A few minutes before the close, the yuan hit 7.9524, its highest level since it was revalued by 2.1 percent and depegged from the dollar in July 2005.
The previous intra-day high, set on Thursday, was 7.9525.
But the Chinese currency spent most of the day under profit-taking pressure, trading as low as 7.9590. It closed at 7.9532 against 7.9527 on Thursday. "Selling pressure on the yuan has been high today, but it's just profit-taking," said a trader with a major domestic lender. He and others said the consolidation was natural - especially since the central bank wants to encourage two-way trade with swings in both directions - and did not change the bullish medium-term outlook.
The yuan could challenge the next psychologically important level of 7.9500 in a matter of days, they said.
Some traders said the approach of this month's International Monetary Fund meeting in Singapore was fuelling speculation about international pressure for yuan appreciation - even though such pressure has had limited success in the past and Beijing seems reluctant to trade yuan appreciation for an increase in its IMF voting strength.
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