Yuan edges up but moves below c.bank's mid-point

Reuters - Wednesday, November 25

* Global dollar weakness pushes yuan up slightly

* Yuan upside limited as China sticks to stable yuan policy

* Market awaits outcome of key annual economic meeting

SHANGHAI, Nov 25 - The yuan edged up against the dollar on Wednesday on signs of fresh weakness in the dollar globally but the Chinese currency traded below the central bank's reference rate, checked by expectations it will not firm much from present levels.

Trade was largely dominated by supply and demand from banks' clients, with the central bank's recent stable yuan policy continuing to keep speculative trading in check.

"Fluctuations of clients' demand and supply have helped the yuan to move slightly in either direction recently," said a dealer at a mid-size bank in Shenzhen. "But the central bank's mid-point decides the yuan remains largely stable."

Spot yuan <CNY=CFXS> was trading at 6.8288 against the dollar at midday, up slightly from Tuesday's close of 6.8294 as the dollar <.DXY> again approached its 15-month low versus a group of major world currencies in early Asian trade on Wednesday.

Spot yuan moved in a range of 6.8283 to 6.8294, trading below the central bank's daily yuan/dollar mid-point <CNY=SAEC> of 6.8275, which was almost unchanged from Tuesday's 6.8276.

Dealers said they were awaiting the outcome of China's annual Central Economic Work Conference which may show the Chinese government fine-tuning its long-standing stable yuan policy. The meeting will be held either in late November or early December.

Official rhetoric on the policy has not changed for now. Late on Tuesday, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said China would keep the yuan's exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. [ID:nPEK302420]

Offshore, benchmark one-year dollar/yuan non-deliverable forwards <CNY1YNDFOR=> fell slightly to 6.6130 bid at midday on Wednesday compared with Tuesday's close of 6.6235.

Twelve-month yuan appreciation implied by NDFs rose to 3.24 percent measured from the Chinese central bank's daily mid-point, compared with 3.08 percent implied at Tuesday's close. ((jianxin.lu@thomsonreuters.com; +86 21 6104 1792; Reuters Messaging: jianxin.lu.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))