Yuan set for 7th straight quarterly gain as exporters sell dollars before holiday

China's yuan has shown resilience, marking its seventh consecutive quarterly gain, as exporters accelerate their dollar sales ahead of the National Day holiday. The currency has been on an upward trend since late 2023, propelled by strong exports, favorable settlement flows, and a general weakness in the dollar. The spot yuan opened at 6.7050 per dollar and traded at 6.7047 as of 0221 GMT, recording an 18-pip increase from the previous close.

Analysts attribute this appreciation to the conversion of foreign exchange reserves into yuan, as holding dollars offers no relative advantage this year. The yuan has gained 0.2% against the dollar this month and 4.3% so far this year. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.7351 per dollar, marking the strongest level since February 2023 and 326 pips weaker than a Reuters estimate.

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