The yuan ended up slightly against the dollar on Friday as the central bank set a stable reference rate, showing its resolve not to allow the yuan to appreciate while two US senators renewed efforts to probe China on its yuan peg. Expressing frustration over the Obama administration's light touch on China's yuan exchange rate.
Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, asked the Commerce Department on Thursday to investigate alleged Chinese currency "manipulation." The Chinese central bank fixed the yuan's daily mid-point, or reference rate, at 6.8278 versus the dollar, compared with Thursday's level of 6.8274.
Spot yuan rose slightly, closing at 6.8278 on Friday, compared with Thursday's close of 6.8284. "China faces high international pressure for the yuan to appreciate," said a dealer at an Asian bank in Shanghai. "But now the central bank has no intention of letting the yuan rise.