China's yuan firmed slightly against the dollar on Friday, with a six-week-high central bank midpoint helping offset corporate dollar demand before a long holiday weekend, traders said. On the week, the currency is set to rise 0.3 percent.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) fixed the official midpoint rate at 6.1348 per dollar before the market opened, the highest level since February 17 and 0.08 percent firmer than the previous fix of 6.1396.
The spot market opened at 6.1960 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.1962 at midday, 8 pips stronger than the previous close but 1 percent weaker than the midpoint.
It kept to a narrow range between 6.1942 and 6.1968 in the morning session, continuing the trend seen of late.
"The currency is relatively steady as it is waiting for fresh market-moving factors, such as the March trade data, to decide a near-term direction," said a senior trader at a Chinese commercial bank in Shanghai.
He added that the central bank had sat aside recently, letting market forces determine the yuan's value, after its intervention in March to set a floor for the yuan's depreciation amid global weakness in emerging market currencies.
Traders said the yuan was likely to move around 6.1950 in the near future until China releases the trade data for March on April 13.
The offshore yuan was trading 0.09 percent weaker than the onshore spot at 6.2018 per dollar. The onshore market will be closed on Monday for a holiday and trading will resume on Tuesday.
Comments
Comments are closed.