USD/CNY: Yuan kicks-off 2017 on the back foot

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The Chinese currency set-off the New Year on a weaker footing versus its American dollar, in response to a generalized strength in the greenback, as the US currency brought an end to its profit-taking slide last week.

However, a sharp devaluation in the Yuan by the Chinese central bank today, emerged the key catalyst behind the jump in USD/CNY. The PBOC set the first USD/CNY reference rate for 2017 at the weakest level in two weeks, 128 basis points weaker at 6.9498 versus 0.9370 previous.

Meanwhile, the USD/CNY pair wipes-out most gains and trades modestly flat at 6.9450 in late-Asia, reversing a spike to 6.9567.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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