China yuan's daily fixing proves difficult for analysts to predict

Shanghai

FOR a rate that China's central bank says is largely determined by easy-to- track market prices, the yuan's daily fixing is proving surprisingly hard for analysts to predict.

The reference rate, which restricts moves in the onshore yuan to a maximum 2 per cent on either side, has defied forecasts in recent days. Even after the central bank's research chief on Monday took the unusual step of clarifying how the rate is set, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) said Wednesday's fixing differed from what the monetary authority's methodology suggested it would be.