The yuan ends down slightly against the dollar on Tuesday, even though the People's Bank of China set a stronger mid-point as investors bought the safe-haven dollar amid a deepening nuclear crisis in Japan. Spot yuan finished down at 6.5727 versus the dollar, against Monday's close of 6.5698. The currency has risen 3.9 percent since it was depegged in June 2010.
Before trading began, the PBOC set the yuan's mid-point at 6.5679 versus the dollar, stronger than Monday's 6.5701. Xia Bin, one of three academic members on the People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, an advisory body, wrote in the latest edition of Caijing magazine that the possibility of a big one-off revaluation of the yuan in the coming decade should not be ruled out.
Benchmark one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards (NDF) hit an intraday high of 6.4700, the highest level since February 1, edging up from 6.4330 at Monday's close. Their implied yuan appreciation in a year's time fell to 1.5 percent, from Monday's 2.1 percent.