Vs Parity Pvs USD/CNY Central Parity 6.3482 6.3587 USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.3789 +0.48% 6.3778 High 6.3799 +0.50% Low 6.3622 +0.22% SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China's yuan fell against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday as huge corporate demand for the greenback, which emerged in the late afternoon, brought the yuan to its daily downside limit during intraday trade. The yuan had firmed in the early morning session as it tracked the central bank's guidance via a daily reference rate. On the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.3789 around 0830 GMT, up from Tuesday's close of CNY6.3778. It traded between CNY6.3622 and the day's allowable onshore limit of CNY6.3799 on Wednesday. The yuan is now up 3.3% against the dollar this year and 7.0% against the U.S. unit since June 2010, when China effectively ended its currency's two-year-long peg to the dollar. The People's Bank of China set the dollar-yuan central parity rate at 6.3482, down sharply from Tuesday's 6.3587, following the dollar's weakness overseas. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, was at 79.048 late Tuesday in New York, down from 79.176 late Monday. At around 0830 GMT, the dollar index was at 79.332. "The dollar rose to its onshore limit because of a large demand for the dollar by an oil company that emerged quite late. It wasn't due to any arbitrage," said a Shanghai-based trader at a local bank. Market participants expect the yuan to remain stable at current levels amid a general easing in China's economic growth. "Things don't appear too rosy now, with the slowing domestic economy. Market participants are quite cautious and eyeing likely policy changes to be discussed at the upcoming central economic work conference," said a Shanghai-based Asian bank trader. Offshore, one-year dollar-yuan non-deliverable forward contracts rose a tad to 6.3950/6.4000 from 6.3940/6.4040 late Tuesday. This implies a 0.3% fall in 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 6.3890 late Wednesday, down from 6.3905 late Tuesday. -By Esther Fung, Dow Jones Newswires; 86-21-6120-1200; esther.fung@dowjones.com

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