Offshore Yuan Weakens

The offshore yuan weakened to around 7.11 per dollar on Wednesday, snapping a two-session winning streak as cautious remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell bolstered the US dollar. Powell emphasized that the central bank must carefully navigate the ongoing trade-off between stubborn inflation and a softening labor market—a policy dilemma he characterized as “a challenging situation.” His comments, which echoed remarks from the previous week, highlighted the persistent complexity facing the central bank as it weighs its next policy moves. In China, the PBoC Governor Pan Gongsheng reiterated that China’s monetary policy will remain data-dependent and focused on sustaining the economic recovery. He pledged to employ a broad set of tools to maintain ample liquidity and reduce financing costs. Meanwhile, markets are also closely monitoring developments in Sino-US trade relations, with Presidents Trump and Xi expected to hold a pivotal meeting in South Korea in six weeks.