China's yuan firmed against the US dollar on Friday after the central bank fixed a stronger midpoint, while easing liquidity pressure in the money market had minimal impact, traders said. China's central bank injected fresh funds through a medium-term lending facility on Friday while keeping a tight rein on short-term funding in what appeared to be a further effort to dampen speculative investment while keeping the economy adequately funded.
The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.8948 per dollar prior to market open, firmer than the previous fix 6.9051. The spot market opened at 6.9006 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.9012 at midday, 13 pips stronger than the previous late session close but 0.09 percent weaker than the midpoint. For the week, the yuan is on course to finish flat on the US unit. The global dollar index fell to 99.579 from the previous close of 99.623. The offshore yuan was trading 0.01 percent softer than the onshore spot at 6.9022 per dollar.