China sets yuan rate to strongest level since 2023

China’s central bank set the yuan’s daily fixing rate at its strongest level since mid-2023 on Wednesday, reports the South China Morning Post. This comes as the Chinese currency extended gains with investors increasingly rotating out of US dollar assets amid concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence and US debt sustainability.

The People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s midpoint rate–also known as the daily fixing rate–at 6.9438 to the US dollar, which marked the strongest level in 33 months. 

The move followed months of steady appreciation in the yuan, with its offshore rate trading at 6.909 per US dollar as of early afternoon on Wednesday.