BEIJING: The Chinese yuan strengthened against the US dollar in the Asian session on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, data from the Conference Board showed that the leading index for the Chinese economy slowed dramatically in March, adding just 0.2% on month. That’s down from the 1.4% increase in February and the 0.6% gain in January.
The coincident index climbed 1.7% in March, the data showed – accelerating from the 0.6% increase in the previous month.
Against the greenback, the yuan rose to a 5-day high of 6.1968 from an early low of 6.2073. At yesterday’s close, the yuan was trading at 6.2005 against the greenback.
If the yuan extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 6.10 area.
The People Bank of China set today’s central parity rate for yuan at 6.1290 per dollar, compared to Tuesday’s reference rate of 6.1280. The central bank sets the reference rate every morning and allows the currency to move upto 2% from that level.
