Offshore Yuan Rebounds on PBoC Fixing

The offshore yuan rose to around 7.13 per dollar on Thursday, paring back significant losses from the previous session, after the People’s Bank of China set a stronger-than-expected daily reference rate. Prior to the market opening, the central bank set the reference rate at 7.1118 per dollar, firmer than Reuters’ estimate of 7.1293. Market sentiment was further supported by signs of easing US-China trade tensions, despite US Ambassador to China David Perdue suggesting that a highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping is more likely to occur next year rather than this fall. Meanwhile, the PBoC injected CNY 600 billion into financial institutions via its one-year Medium-Term Lending Facility, reinforcing efforts to maintain adequate liquidity in the banking system. With CNY 300 billion in MLF funds maturing this month, the operation resulted in a net liquidity injection of CNY 300 billion—marking the seventh consecutive month of net MLF expansion.