SHANGHAI: China’s yuan weakened against the US dollar on Monday, in tandem with a softer Japanese yen, but is expected to remain in a narrow range for the next few sessions as markets await US inflation data for more clues on when the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates.

The spot yuan opened at 7.1720 per dollar and was last trading 119 pips lower than the previous late session close and 0.49% weaker than the midpoint.

The yen was a tad softer against the dollar in trading thinned by a Japanese holiday on Monday.

The yuan is up 0.5% against the dollar this month, in line with a surging yen, as an unwinding of short positions snowballed following a surprise rate hike by the Bank of Japan and weakness in US economic indicators.