China keeps yuan gains in check as PBOC resists sharp rise against weaker dollar
The Chinese yuan rose less than 1% against the US dollar even as the greenback fell more than 2% since late July, analysts said.
Source: South China Morning Post · August 27, 2026 at 11:31 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-source
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 AUGUST 2026 —
The Chinese yuan rose less than 1% against the US dollar even as the greenback fell more than 2% since late July, analysts said.
Market Impact
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) resisted market pressure for sharper appreciation, allowing the currency to weaken in trade-weighted terms, according to a note by Gavekal Dragonomics on Wednesday. The US dollar index dropped after joint US-Japan intervention in late July and a US Treasury plan to expand long-end bond buy-backs, but the yuan’s daily fixing strengthened by only 46 pips on Aug 21, compared with 219 pips after a similar dollar slide last August.
On Thursday, the PBOC set the yuan’s midpoint at 6.7840 per dollar, slightly weaker than 6.7829 the day before and below the offshore rate of 6.721 at midday. He Wei, China economist at Gavekal, said the PBOC’s reaction “confirms the turn to a more cautious stance in 2026” and suggests the currency will move little in coming months.
Analysts said the move reflects Beijing’s preference for a stable currency with room for gradual appreciation. Cliff Zhao, chief economist at CCB International in Hong Kong, said the central bank’s caution was aimed at preventing sentiment overheating rather than rejecting yuan appreciation.
Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said modest gains were likely for the rest of the year as fiscal strains in developed economies weighed on their currencies while stronger domestic policy support underpinned the yuan.
Related: People’s Bank of China (PBOC)