WSJ:China Yuan Up Late to 3-Month High on Dollar Weakness, Clinton Visit
Vs Parity Previous
USD/CNY Central Parity 6.3415 6.3449
USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.3407 -0.01% 6.3484
High 6.3492 +0.12%
Low 6.3385 -0.05%
SHANGHAI--China's yuan rose to a three-month-high against the U.S. dollar late Monday, ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and after the central bank guided its currency upward following the dollar's weakness overseas.
On the over-the-counter market, the greenback was at CNY6.3407 around 0830 GMT, below Friday's close of CNY6.3484 and the lowest since May 23, when it hit CNY6.3345. It traded in a range of CNY6.3385 to CNY6.3492.
Ahead of trading, the People's Bank of China set the dollar/yuan central parity rate at 6.3415, down from Friday's 6.3449, after the U.S. unit weakened against other major currencies following comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Friday that indicated the Fed could introduce another bond-buying program if economic conditions warranted such action.
According to traders, the yuan was also boosted by an upcoming visit to China by Mrs. Clinton that will start Tuesday.
"The yuan is under pressure to rise more this week given the Clinton visit, and I suspect the dollar-yuan pair may hit the 6.3300 level later," said a Shanghai-based trader with a foreign bank.
The Chinese currency's loss against the dollar since the start of 2012 has narrowed to 0.7% from as much as 1.6% in late July.
Offshore, one-year dollar/yuan nondeliverable forward contracts fell to 6.4455/6.4485 from 6.4480/6.4510 late Friday, implying a 1.7% fall by the yuan over the next year.
In the offshore yuan market in Hong Kong, where the Chinese currency floats freely, the dollar was at CNY6.3460, higher than CNY6.3535 late Friday.
