The yuan slipped against the dollar on Friday after China's central bank sent a strong signal through its midpoint fixing, cautioning against a rapid appreciation of the currency which hovered just shy of the psychologically key 7-per-dollar level.
Major state-owned banks were seen actively buying dollars in the onshore spot market and quickly recycling those dollars into the swap market, traders said. The combination of moves was also interpreted as an effort to slow the yuan's gains.
