China's yuan firmed slightly against the dollar on Tuesday after a five-day losing streak as corporate dollar sales helped offset the negative impact from the central bank's weak midpoint. "We saw some company clients sell dollars in early trade, pushing the yuan slightly higher," said a trader at a European bank in Shanghai. "Shortly afterwards, however, dollar supply and demand struck a rough balance."
The spot market opened at 6.2156 per dollar and quickly climbed to an intraday high of 6.2125 per dollar.
It then stabilised to move in a narrow range and changed hands at 6.2150 by midday, 0.03 percent firmer than the previous close.
The offshore yuan was trading 0.09 percent weaker from the onshore spot at 6.2205 per dollar.
The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.1407 per dollar prior to market open, the lowest level since April 1.
Traders said the market was divided over the direction of the yuan after China posted disappointing March trade data on Monday. As such, the market would await the release of China's first-quarter GDP figures on Wednesday for clues on the yuan's near-term movements, they said.
In addition, the performance of the greenback in global markets had of late played a significant role in the yuan's moves, traders said. Rising expectations for a US interest rate hike later this year is set to add downward pressure on the Chinese currency.