China's yuan edges higher in tight range as investors await Fed guidance at Jackson Hole

Business Recorder reported that China's yuan edged up against the US dollar on Thursday, trading within a tight band as traders kept positions light while awaiting remarks from Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve chair, at the Jackson Hole symposium. At 0206 GMT the spot yuan stood at 6.7217 per dollar, 16 pips stronger than the prior late-session close.

The dollar remained robust after US inflation readings and resilient economic data lifted expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate increases, while traders waited for policy guidance from the Jackson Hole conference later in the day. Earlier, the People's Bank of China fixed the midpoint at 6.7840 per dollar, a level 579 pips below what Reuters had estimated, which suggests the authority wants to slow the pace of yuan gains, according to traders and analysts.

OCBC analysts flagged renewed US pressure on Iran as another uncertainty for the yuan, given China's large role as a buyer of Iranian oil. They said the immediate currency effect should stay limited unless measures directly target major Chinese financial institutions, though wider secondary sanctions on Chinese firms or banks could weigh on sentiment. The currency has climbed 1.0% against the dollar in the current month and 4.1% so far this year.