Yuan Hits Four-Year High Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting
The Chinese yuan has hit its strongest level in over four years as the People's Bank of China maintains pressure on the currency's daily trading reference rate. The offshore yuan rose to around 6.7 per dollar, its highest level since July 2022, ahead of a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump next week.
The move is seen as a positive sign for China's economy, with robust exports and increased demand from companies converting foreign-currency earnings into yuan contributing to the currency's strength. The yuan has been Asia's strongest-performing currency this year, and it is on course for a seventh straight quarterly advance.
China is also expanding its infrastructure that allows other currencies to be traded and settled more directly against the yuan. Shanghai Clearing House began central-counterparty services on September 14 for spot transactions in the US dollar, euro, British pound, and Swiss franc, with 12 banks participating and 996 million yuan in transactions cleared during the initial session.