The yuan ended slightly lower against the dollar on Friday after hitting another record intraday high, with the People's Bank of China fixing the mid-point at an all-time peak amid intensifying inflationary pressures. China's turbo-charged growth eased just a touch in the first quarter, while consumer price inflation jumped to a 32-month high, putting pressure on the government to do more to rein in prices and keep the economy on an even keel, data showed.
"You see clearly here why the PBOC has been guiding the yuan to repeated record highs this year," said a trader at a Chinese commercial bank in Shenzhen. Spot yuan closed at 6.5325 against the dollar, down slightly from Thursday's close of 6.5315 and having now appreciated 4.49 percent since it was depegged in June 2010, and 0.87 percent so far this year.
It hit an all-time high of 6.5290 in early afternoon trade, toppling the previous record of 6.5298 touched on Thursday. Before trading began, the PBOC fixed the yuan's mid-point at a record high of 6.5301, up from Thursday's historical high of 6.5339. The fixing is used by the PBOC to express the government's intentions for the currency. Offshore, one-year non-deliverable forwards were bid at 6.3820 in late trade, down slightly from 6.3850 at Thursday's close.