China's state banks seen selling dollars offshore to slow yuan decline: sources

China's state banks seen selling dollars offshore to slow yuan decline: sources

Business

It is one of the worst performing Asian currencies for 2023

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China's major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the offshore spot market in early Asian trades on Thursday, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

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Such state bank dollar selling was meant to slow the pace of yuan decline, one of the sources said.

China's central bank on Thursday also announced a relaxing of a cross-border financing rule, making it easier for domestic firms to raise funds from overseas markets and easing depreciation pressure on the yuan currency.

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China's offshore yuan strengthened more than 0.7 per cent to a high of 7.1812 per dollar before last trading at 7.1890 as of 0249 GMT.

In the onshore market, the yuan followed a similar upward bounce, but it is still down about 4pc against the dollar year-to-date, making it one of the worst performing Asian currencies for 2023.