China's yuan fell on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China set a lower-than-expected midpoint, generating talk that authorities may intend to guide the currency weaker in the near term, dealers said. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) fixed its midpoint at 6.1651 per dollar on Tuesday, 0.09 percent weaker than Monday's record high.
Spot yuan changed hands at 6.1300 in early afternoon, 0.08 percent softer than Monday's close. The dollar/yuan rate was 0.57 below the midpoint, compared with a gap of more than 0.9 percent that persisted on most days between the fourth quarter of 2012 and late last month. "The midpoint hit us unexpectedly," said a dealer at a city commercial bank in Shanghai.