The yuan will remain stable against the United States dollar in the near future with the Chinese government pledging to stabilize the currency.

The yuan closed slightly higher against the dollar last week at 6.8371 on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The local currency ended at 6.8380 by the end of the previous week.

"The yuan will not gain or fall on a large scale. The financial turmoil has brought much uncertainty to the market, and we will keep it at a reasonable and stable level," said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the central bank.

"China's exports are heavily affected by falling demand from foreign countries, and a depreciation of the local currency will not be any good for domestic manufacturers," said Lian Ping, chief economist with the Bank of Communications.

Liu Dongliang, an analyst with China Merchants Bank, said: "We have seen a fairly balanced trading of the yuan after the week-long Chinese New Year holiday."

(Shanghai Daily February 9, 2009)