China sets yuan fixing rate at 15-month high amid offshore gains
The move follows offshore yuan briefly breaching seven-per-US-dollar mark, with analysts citing dollar weakness, seasonal factors for rally
China’s central bank has set the yuan’s daily reference rate at its strongest level in 15 months, as the currency strengthened in offshore trading and briefly broke through the closely watched seven-per-US-dollar threshold.
The move followed a recent rally in the Chinese currency, with the offshore yuan briefly breaching the benchmark rate of seven against the US dollar last week.
By midday on Monday, the offshore yuan was trading at 7.009 per US dollar.
Analysts at China International Capital Corporation (CICC) said in a note on Saturday that US dollar weakness, along with seasonal factors such as exporters’ year-end foreign-exchange conversions, were the “immediate drivers” of the yuan’s strength.
Trump said in a social media post last week that he expected the new chair to lower interest rates if markets were doing well, adding that anyone who disagrees with him “will never be the Fed Chairman!”