The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has consistently strengthened the yuan's reference rate, marking its longest streak since December 2025. On Tuesday, September 15, 2026, the PBOC set the reference rate at 6.7670 per dollar. This move comes ahead of President Xi Jinping's summit with US counterpart Donald Trump and aims to offset recent gains by the U.S. dollar.
On Thursday, September 17, 2026, the yuan's midpoint exchange rate against the U.S. dollar strengthened by 48 basis points to 6.7580, marking its strongest level since February 3, 2023. This action by the PBOC signals Beijing's desire to curb volatility and discourage one-way bets against the currency, especially in the context of a strong dollar following the Federal Reserve's recent quarter-point interest rate hike.
Unlike fully free-floating currencies, the yuan's value is influenced by the PBOC's daily “fixing” rate, with onshore trading allowed within a 2% band. Setting a stronger-than-expected fix, even when the fix was 339 pips weaker than a Reuters model estimate, indicates the central bank's intention to maintain stability rather than aggressively push the yuan higher. This active management has helped the yuan remain relatively resilient compared to other Asian currencies facing pressure from a stronger dollar.
