WSJ:China Yuan up Late on Big Banks' Dollar Sales; Ignores PBOC Guidance
Vs Parity Previous
USD/CNY Central Parity 6.2871 6.2846
USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.2351 -0.83% 6.2405
High 6.2434 -0.70%
Low 6.2328 -0.86%
SHANGHAI--China's yuan rose against the U.S. dollar late Friday as major Chinese banks sold the dollar, helping to overcome the central bank's move to guide the Chinese currency lower via a daily reference rate.
On the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.2351 around 0830 GMT, lower than Thursday's close of CNY6.2405. It traded in a range of CNY6.2328 to CNY6.2434.
The People's Bank of China set the dollar/yuan central parity rate at 6.2871, higher than Thursday's 6.2846.
But some big Chinese banks sold the dollar during the trading session and the dollar-yuan pair fell quickly as trading is light after the Lunar New Year holiday, traders said.
"I suspect they are selling on behalf of their corporate customers," said a Shanghai-based trader with a foreign bank.
Another Shanghai-based trader with a foreign bank said the yuan ended higher Friday partly because of the lack of dollar buyers. "We haven't seen oil importers for a while; they have been major dollar buyers in the onshore market," he added.
The yuan has fallen 0.1% against the dollar since the start of 2013.
Offshore, one-year dollar/yuan nondeliverable forward contracts fell to 6.3220/6.3257 from 6.3238/6.3275 late Thursday, implying a 1.4% 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 CNY6.2340, lower than CNY6.2398 late Thursday.
