China set its daily reference rate for the yuan at a stronger-than-expected level to slow its slide, as the managed currency weakened in the offshore market while there was a holiday on the mainland.
The People’s Bank of China set the fixing at 7.2056 per dollar, 77 pips stronger than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey with traders and analysts. The offshore yuan slid to the weakest since November on Friday, as the nation’s economic recovery slowed and its stimulus measures disappointed investors. The onshore markets will reopen after a two-day holiday.
“It may mean a sign to partly stabilise the yuan, by preventing excessive moves after moving above 7.20,” said Becky Liu, head of China macro strategy at Standard Chartered. “But it doesn’t imply a harder line by the PBOC to defend any level, or aiming to alter the trend.”
Analysts expect the yuan to remain under pressure in the near term, amid Beijing’s slow stimulus rollout and divergent monetary policy with the US. China’s travel spending during the holiday also fell short of pre-Covid levels, underscoring a slowdown in consumption.
The fixing limits the onshore yuan’s moves by 2% on either side.
