(Reuters) – China lowered its official yuan midpoint for the six straight day to a fresh 19-month low against the dollar on Thursday.
Prior to market opening, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC, around which the yuan is allowed to trade in a 2% band, at 7.2092 per dollar, the weakest since September 11, 2023 but 1,392 pips firmer than a Reuters’ estimate CNY=RTRS of 7.3484.
The PBOC has slightly loosened its grip on the currency this week by allowing official guidance to weaken past the key threshold of 7.2 per dollar level, although it came in much stronger than market projections, in what traders and analysts interpreted as an official attempt to keep the yuan steady.
The PBOC’s focus on steady yuan moves comes even as the worsening U.S. trade war severely challenges the competitiveness of China’s massive export sector, suggesting financial market stability remains the priority.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
