Vs Parity Pvs USD/CNY Central Parity 6.3477 6.3456 USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.3595 +0.19% 6.3533 High 6.3620 +0.23% Low 6.3494 +0.03% SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China's yuan fell against the U.S. dollar late Thursday, weighed by large import settlements by state-owned oil companies and other firms. On the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.3595 around 0830 GMT, up from CNY6.3533 late Wednesday. It traded between CNY6.3494 and CNY6.3620. Ahead of trading, the People's Bank of China fixed the dollar/yuan central parity rate at 6.3477, up from Wednesday's 6.3456, and traders forecast it would stay around that level in the near term. "The fixing is likely to remain below 6.3500 tomorrow for a fourth straight day. The PBOC has led the market step-by-step since last Friday and given traders a clear target [...] to work towards," a Beijing-based trader at a local bank said. Despite a series of record-low fixings by the central bank this week, the Chinese currency hasn't traded strongly due to significant selling pressures following the U.S. Senate's Oct. 11 passage of a punitive currency bill targeting China. However, dealers said some of the risk aversion that followed the bill's passage has since dissipated, so the flood of safe-haven bids for the dollar has subsided somewhat. Still, the U.S. unit was boosted Thursday by large import settlements--typical at the end of the month--despite its weakness overseas following European leaders' announcement of a long-awaited deal on Greek debt. The euro jumped to a seven-week high against the dollar after the announcement. Dealers said oil companies bought several hundred millions' worth of dollars Thursday for import settlements. The yuan has risen 7.3% against the U.S. unit since June 2010, when China effectively unpegged its currency from the dollar. Offshore, the yuan fell against the dollar in both the nondeliverable forwards and spot markets. One-year dollar-yuan nondeliverable forwards rose to 6.3940/6.3990 from 6.3885/6.3935 late Wednesday, implying a 0.6% depreciation 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 6.4025 late Thursday, up from 6.4020 late Wednesday. -By Jean Yung, Dow Jones Newswires; 8621 6120-1200; jean.yung@dowjones.com

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