The onshore yuan exchange rate against the US dollar broke through 6.98, and the yuan exchange rate is expected to maintain a stable two-way fluctuation pattern in January

Odaily News On the first trading day of 2026, the onshore yuan exchange rate against the US dollar continued its appreciation trend. Today, the onshore yuan exchange rate against the US dollar rose to a high of 6.977 during the session, once again setting a new high since mid-May 2023. At 16:30, the onshore yuan exchange rate against the US dollar closed at 6.9806 for the day, up 84 basis points from the previous trading day, marking the highest level since May 17, 2023. Wen Bin, Chief Economist at China Minsheng Bank, expects that in January, supported by seasonal foreign exchange settlement demand, the yuan may still have room for appreciation. However, the central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar has already deviated from the closing price of the onshore exchange rate in the direction of depreciation, which may indicate some pro-cyclical behavior in the foreign exchange market recently. "Overall, under the policy tone of regulatory authorities to maintain the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level and prevent the risk of exchange rate overshooting, although the yuan exchange rate may still operate on the strong side in January, it is not expected to appreciate significantly. For most of the time, it is likely to fluctuate bidirectionally within the range of 6.9-7," Wen Bin pointed out. (The Paper)