China's yuan eases from 7-month peak, econ data in focus
SHANGHAI, Aug 6 (Reuters) -China's yuan eased on Tuesday from a seven-month high against the dollar and gave back most of the gains it booked a day earlier, as some investors cashed in ahead of a string of economic data that is likely to affect the currency's outlook.
Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC, around which the yuan is allowed to trade in a 2% band, at 7.1318 per dollar and 136 pips firmer than a Reuters' estimate.
At 0219 GMT, the onshore yuan CNY=CFXS was 0.19% lower at 7.1530 per dollar, compared with a seven-month peak of 7.1120 it hit on Monday.
Its offshore counterpart CNH=D3 traded at 7.1468 per dollar around 0219 GMT, down from the high of 7.0636 it touched a day earlier.
Both onshore CNY=CFXS and offshore CNH=D3 yuan leapt on Monday, underpinned by a stronger Japanese yen and investors rushing to unwind their emerging market carry trades.
Yuan assets also outperformed amid a global sell-offs in stocks, oil and higher-yielding currencies on Monday.
Currency traders said market sentiment stabilised on Tuesday after U.S. central bank policymakers pushed back against the notion that weaker-than-expected July jobs data meant the economy is in recessionary freefall, but also warned that the Federal Reserve will need to cut rates to avoid such an outcome.
China's yuan is still down 0.7% against the dollar so far this year, and the recovery "has created considerable room for the PBOC to implement further easing measures in the coming months, particularly given the weak credit demand and continued deflationary pressure domestically," said Serena Zhou, senior China economist at Mizuho Securities Asia.
Traders and analysts said market attention has switched to upcoming data including inflation and credit lending to gauge the health of the broad economy.
July inflation data is due to be released on Friday.
China's yuan has been under pressure since early 2023 as domestic woes around a moribund property sector, anaemic consumption and falling yields drive capital flows out of the yuan, and as foreign investors stay away from its struggling stock market.
Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Miral Fahmy
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
