Yuan Reversal Shows 6.5 Per Dollar Is New Line of Resistance

(Bloomberg) -- The offshore yuan quickly erased an advance after hitting 6.5 per dollar, suggesting that the level could be a new line in the sand for a currency that’s set to climb for a third quarter.

The yuan traded in the overseas market erased a gain of as much as 0.2% within 30 minutes, after the currency hit 6.5 in Thursday morning trade. The swings followed a similar pattern seen last week, when the offshore yuan briefly breached 6.5 -- touching the strongest level in more than two years -- and then started to depreciate.

The offshore currency has advanced 4.2% since the end of September, on pace for the longest run of quarterly gains since early 2018, due to China’s economic recovery from the pandemic and its yield advantage over the rest of the world. While the appreciation opens a window for Beijing to carry out financial reforms, it risks hurting exporters and stoking speculative capital inflows.

In October, policy makers sought to slow the rally by allowing more outflows and lowering the cost of shorting, but the measures barely made a dent on investors’ confidence in the yuan.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.