The yuan was little changed against the dollar in offshore forwards on Friday, stabilising as steadily mounting US pressure for resumed yuan appreciation met with repeated insistence from China that it will keep the currency stable. Benchmark dollar/yuan one-year non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) were bid at 6.6595 late on Friday, little changed from Thursday's close of 6.6640.
Twelve-month yuan appreciation implied by the NDFs barely budged, at 2.50 percent measured from the Chinese central bank's daily mid-point versus 2.43 percent implied at the previous close. Dealers said they expected the yuan to hold to a narrow range in the NDFs in coming days, while the market is awaiting fresh signals on yuan policy and a semi-annual US Treasury report on trade partners' currency practices that is due on April 15.
The Chinese central bank fixed the yuan's daily mid-point, or reference rate, at 6.8263 per dollar on Friday, little changed from the previous day's 6.8262. Spot yuan closed at 6.8265 per dollar at midday on Friday, little changed from Thursday's close of 6.8261.