Spot yuan closed up against the dollar on Wednesday as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set a record high mid-point, while a surge in foreign exchange reserves and exports underscored continuing pressure for the Chinese currency to appreciate. China's stockpile of currency reserves, the world's biggest, increased by $194 billion from July to September, the most ever in a three-month period, to reach $2.65 trillion. Exports in September rose 25.1 percent from a year earlier.
The yuan closed at 6.6641 against the dollar, up from Tuesday's close of 6.6734, after the PBOC fixed the mid-point at a record high of 6.6693, up from Tuesday's 6.6775. Benchmark one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) fell to 6.4486 bid in late trade from Tuesday's close of 6.4590, with their implied 12-month yuan appreciation rising to 3.42 percent from 3.38 percent.