The PBOC puts the RMB midpoint at 7.0268 per dollar
A Chinese bank employee counts 100 yuan banknotes and US dollar bills at a bank counter in Nantong, China's eastern Jiangsu Province, August 6, 2019.
STR | AFP | Getty Images
China's official mid-point reference for the yuan was set at 7.0268 per US dollar on Thursday – stronger than Wednesday's fix, but it was weaker than analysts had predicted.
Analysts predicted the midpoint to be set at 7.0236 per dollar, according to Reuters estimates.
It was the sixth session in a row where the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint at a level weaker than the psychologically important 7-yuan per dollar mark.
The yuan on land was last traded at 7.0250. On Thursday morning around 09.24 hp / SIN, the offshore yuan traded at 7.051[ads1]8 against the dollar, weakening again after the yuan plunged overnight on Tuesday – with US President Donald Trump backing China's tariffs.
The yuan depreciated above 7 per share. dollars last week for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008, which prompted the US Treasury Department to designate China as a currency manipulator.
Trump has repeatedly complained that a cheaper yuan will give China a trade advantage as it makes Chinese exports more attractive in international markets.
The PBOC allows the currency spot rate to trade at a range of 2% above or below today's official midpoint fixing, and this is known as the yuan on land. The less restrictive exchange rate used outside China is known as the offshore yuan.
Investors usually look at the difference between onshore and offshore exchange rates to determine whether the Chinese central bank is manipulating the yuan.