China'a yuan eased against the US dollar on Friday and looked set to post its first weekly loss since early July, after a strong multi-month rally. Prior to the market open, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.6744 per dollar prior, 35 pips or 0.05 percent weaker than the previous fix 6.6709.
In the spot market, the yuan opened at 6.6750 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.6771 at midday, 36 pips weaker than the previous late session close and 0.04 percent softer than the midpoint. If the spot yuan finishes at the current level at the late night close on Friday, it would have lost nearly 0.2 percent against the dollar on the week, its first such loss since the week ended on July 7.
But the yuan has strengthened for three consecutive months from May till July, an unusual run for China's currency. The Thomson Reuters/HKEX Global CNH index, which tracks the offshore yuan against a basket of currencies on a daily basis, stood at 94.77, firmer than the previous day's 94.75. The global dollar index rose to 93.623 from the previous close of 93.622. The offshore yuan was trading 0.11 percent weaker than the onshore spot at 6.6842 per dollar.