Yuan slows uptick amid rising trade tensions

SHANGHAI: China’s yuan was little changed on Monday following a six-session rising streak, as the dollar stabilized and growing trade tensions added to concerns that the local currency’s recent surge is overdone.

Moreover, Monday’s reduction in China’s 14-day policy loan rate strengthens expectations of further monetary easing, pushing down the 30-year yield to a record low - a reminder for traders of China’s yield disadvantage despite the outsized U.S rate cut last week.

The yuan changed hands at 7.0469 around midday, barely moved from the prevision session’s close.

It has gained more than 3% since late July against a slumping dollar, and is now hovering near 16-month highs.

“This round of yuan appreciation was mainly driven by the dollar’s weakness,” Cai Shaoli, analyst at Huaitai Futures, said in a note.

Despite short-term improvement in corporate yuan demand, the longer-term trend of the currency will be still determined by fundamentals, and the risks of global trade is rising, he said.

“This means after the recent gains, the yuan will likely see two-way fluctuation in future.”