The offshore yuan held steady around 6.95 per dollar on Thursday, after sliding in the previous session, as markets saw the weaker-than-expected daily fixing as a deliberate effort to maintain a “measured and orderly” pace of currency appreciation. The People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 7.0019 per dollar, 322 pips weaker than a Reuters estimate. The latest move, which has been part of a pattern seen since early December, highlighted Beijing’s strategy to prevent a swift dollar unloading, curb sudden fluctuations, and support market stability. Adding further support to the yuan were continued foreign-exchange settlements from exporters, alongside foreign inflows into Chinese equities amid sustained investor optimism around artificial intelligence. On the economic front, urban youth unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds, excluding students, fell to 16.5% in November 2025 from 16.9% in October, marking the lowest level since June.