China's yuan edged down against the dollar to close at its lowest level in more than seven weeks on Monday as key Chinese state-owned banks, spurred by the strength of the US currency on global markets, bought dollar finished at 8.0260 to the dollar, compared with Friday's close of 8.0220.
Monday's finish was the weakest closing level since March 30, when the yuan ended at 8.0268.
The yuan has weakened steadily since Monday last week, when it hit 7.9972, its strongest level since Beijing revalued the currency by 2.1 percent and freed it from a dollar peg in July last year.
Dealers said they could not forecast a trend for coming days because of the suspected role of the central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), in deciding the yuan's exchange rate.
"The yuan's latest weakening is a surprise to the market, which had expected it to gain steadily after it breached the key 8.0 mark at last Monday's post-revaluation high," said a Shanghai-based dealer at a foreign bank.
"The influence of the PBOC is suspected behind the dollar purchases of key Chinese state banks," he said. "It seems the central bank is keeping the market guessing what it will do."