HONG KONG: China’s yuan slipped to near seven-month lows on Friday, in line with the yen’s losses after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its easy monetary settings unchanged in its latest policy review.

The yen’s weakness has been weighing down Asian currencies in recent months and investors were closely watching the latest BOJ meeting decision for any hint that it would further withdraw its monetary stimulus.

But the Japanese central bank adopted a cautious stance, maintaining the current pace of its bond purchases and committing to laying out a tapering plan at its next meeting in July, suggesting it will take its time in embarking on quantitative tightening.

Prior to the market open, the People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate, around which the yuan is allowed to trade in a 2% band, at 7.1151 per US dollar, the weakest level since January 19.