The offshore yuan held its decline around 6.72 per dollar on Wednesday as the US dollar strengthened amid mounting inflation concerns and growing expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike. The greenback remained firm as renewed tensions in the Middle East heightened fears of further disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, adding to inflationary pressures and reinforcing expectations that major central banks could keep monetary policy tighter for longer. Further weighing on the yuan, the People’s Bank of China set the daily midpoint fixing at 6.7829 per dollar, 591 pips weaker than the Reuters estimate, signaling continued efforts by policymakers to temper the currency’s appreciation. On the geopolitical front, Putin and Xi discussed the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Trump on the sidelines of China’s APEC summit in November, while Xi is also set to visit Washington later this month for talks with the US president.