The Chinese yuan strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar Thursday, as the greenback suffered broad losses versus a basket of major currency peers.
In the spot market in Shanghai, the U.S. dollar bought 6.8854 yuan as of 3pm, down 0.04 per cent from 6.888 yuan late Wednesday.
In Hong Kong’s offshore market, the dollar was lower at 6.8812, compared with 6.8854 in the prior session.
Earlier, the PBOC cut the yuan’s mid-point rate to 6.8664, weaker by 128 basis points from the previous day.
The ICE U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of other currencies, dipped 0.04 per cent to 99.799 in afternoon trade.
Analysts said market conditions are relatively quiet as investors turned risk-off amid a number of uncertainties, including geopolitical risks, the UK snap election, and the first round of French elections this weekend
Stephen Innes, a senior trader at Oanda Asia Pacific, said:
We’re seeing a greater propensity for position unwind this week due to the high level of investor anxiety over the French election narrative ... With so many uncertainties offering few incentives for investors to re-engage risk exposure, clearly there is little market bravado, as dealers appear to be disposed to participate after the fact, rather than play the post-election knee-jerk.