Spot yuan closed down against the dollar on Friday, recording its first weekly fall since early September, after the People's Bank of China fixed a weaker mid-point in a clear signal that Beijing wants a temporary pause in the yuan's recent appreciation.
The yuan closed at 6.6590 against the dollar on Friday, down from Thursday's close of 6.6504, after the PBOC set a weaker mid-point of 6.6759 from Thursday's 6.6695. The Chinese currency lost 0.27 percent this week, the first weekly decline since the week ending September 5.
The yuan has still appreciated 2.51 percent since the PBOC announced its depegging to the dollar on June 19, although its rise has still lagged far behind a nearly 10 percent plunge in the US dollar index during the same period. Offshore, benchmark one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable NDFs rebounded to 6.4680 from Thursday's 6.4260, with their implied yuan appreciation in a year's time dropping sharply to 3.21 percent from 3.79 percent.