China PBOC sets the yuan midpoint to 7.0039 per dollar, the weakest since 2008
China's central bank on Thursday set the official reference rate for the Chinese currency at 7.0039 yuan per dollar – the weakest level since April 21, 2008.
Investors closely monitor the yuan after the currency broke an important 7-yuan on Monday for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008. This prompted the US Treasury to label Beijing a currency manipulator.
Wednesday's yuan midpoint was the first time since 2008 that the reference rate was lower than $ 7 per dollar, according to Reuters. A weaker yuan makes Chinese exports more attractive, and the Trump administration has complained about giving Beijing a trade advantage.
Economists who asked Reuters had expected that the People's Bank of China would set the yuan to $ 7.0205 per dollar on Thursday. The yuan's midpoint was set at a stronger level of $ 6,996 per dollar Wednesday.
China allows the yuan to trade within a narrow band of 2% from each day's midpoint.
The yuan on land changed hands at 7.0423 per dollar Thursday, while the offshore yuan traded at 7.0678 against the greenback.
The United States and China are involved in a months-long trade dispute that escalated last week when President Donald Trump surprised the markets by announcing that new tariffs for another $ 300 billion of Chinese goods will come into force on September 1[ads1]. Global markets were tapped for that news amid signs that the customs dispute might be going.
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