China: Yuan sets new low against USD

Beijing – The Chinese yuan has hit another new low versus the U.S. dollar since starting its recent depreciation against the greenback in mid-January.

The People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s mid point at 6.1610 on Tuesday, 19 bips lower than the previous session. That came as the yuan continued its downward trend this week.

Analysts say that the U.S. economic recovery and the pull back of the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy both contributed to the decline. Other factors such as China’s exports also played a role in setting the yuan’s parity rate.

The PBOC widened the yuan’s daily trading band to 2 percent in March to better reflect the currency’s real value. Analysts say the wider range could deter speculative capital flows into China as the yuan has risen more than 32 percent against the U.S. dollar since 2005. Source: CCTV