China's yuan hit a record high versus the dollar on Thursday for the second straight day as hopes that the central bank may guide the yuan to appreciate further offset a slightly weaker official midpoint, traders said. Adding to the bullish sentiment toward the Chinese currency, a preliminary survey showed on Thursday that strong new orders helped China's manufacturing sector record its fastest expansion in October for seven months, providing more evidence that the world's second-largest economy is stabilising.
Spot yuan traded as high as 6.0815 per dollar. It retreated slightly to 6.0819 near midday, still up 0.03 percent from Wednesday's close of 6.0835. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the official midpoint rate at 6.1335 on Thursday, off Wednesday's record high of 6.1330.