China's central bank set its official midpoint rate at the highest level since January 4 on Monday. The rate was set at 6.5118 per U.S. dollar, up sharply from 6.5314 before the Spring Festival.
The Chinese foreign exchange market was closed all last week for the Lunar New Year holiday. During the break, the dollar index against a basket of currencies led by the euro dropped 1.5 percent, pushing the offshore yuan 0.9 stronger during the same period.
The Chinese currency was under depreciating pressure, but analysts say if the rise of offshore yuan could lead to a rebound of onshore RMB, there will be a higher possibility of a cut in the reserve requirement ratio.
