Vs Parity Pvs USD/CNY Central Parity 6.4386 6.4441 USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.4390 +0.01% 6.4341 High 6.4491 +0.16% Low 6.4344 -0.07% SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China's yuan was lower against the dollar late Thursday, as the U.S. unit rose in Asia after the Japanese government intervened in the foreign-exchange market to weaken the yen. But traders said they expect the Chinese authorities will continue to let the yuan rise in the short term in the face of stubbornly-high inflation. In the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.4390 around 0830 GMT, up from Wednesday's close of CNY6.4341. It traded between CNY6.4344 and CNY6.4491. "The yuan's appreciation trend won't change as inflation pressure is still weighing," said a Beijing-based trader with a local bank. China is set to release inflation data for July on Aug. 9. The consumer price index is widely expected to rise at around the same pace as June's 6.4% increase, its fastest in three years. The yuan appreciated about 2.3% against the dollar in the first half of the year, which helped offset higher global commodity prices and imported inflation pressures, the Financial News, a central-backed paper, said in a commentary Thursday. Even though the Japanese central bank intervened to curb the yen's appreciation, "I don't think more central banks will follow suit as many are facing imported inflation pressure as China is," a Shanghai-based foreign bank trader said. After Tokyo's intervention Thursday, the dollar quickly rose against the yen and other Asian currencies. At 0836 GMT, the ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 74.688, up from 74.032. Offshore, one-year dollar-yuan nondeliverable forwards rose to 6.3680/6.3730 from 6.3580/6.3620 late Wednesday, implying a 1.1% rise by the yuan against the U.S. currency over the next year. In the offshore yuan market in Hong Kong, where the Chinese currency floats freely, the dollar-yuan exchange rate was at 6.4228 late Thursday, down from 6.4265 late Wednesday. -Wynne Wang and Rose Yu contributed to this article, Dow Jones Newswires; (86-21) 6120-1200; wynne.wang@dowjones.com

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