SHANGHAI, Mar 16: China’s yuan weakened against the dollar on Monday after the central bank set a weaker midpoint, reflecting the greenback’s global strength. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.1615 per dollar prior to market open, weaker than the previous fix at 6.1588.
The spot market opened at 6.2620 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.2618 by late morning, 23 pips weaker than the previous close and 1.63 percent away from the midpoint. The yuan has slowly weakened since late 2014, partly because expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike by mid-2015 have pushed the dollar index to a 12-year high. Traders say they suspect the PBOC has used its midpoint as well as intervention in trading to control the pace of the Chinese currency’s depreciation. They expect this to continue in the near term, partly because of Beijing’s concerns over capital outflows.
The offshore yuan was trading 0.23 percent weaker than the onshore spot at 6.2764 per dollar on Monday. (AGENCIES)
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