The yuan hovered in a razor-thin range of 8.2772 to 8.2774 throughout the session. Turnover was a thin US$370 million, but up from Wednesday's US$320 million.

"The yuan kept near the firm end of the government-set trading box for the entire session, with most deals seen at 8.2773," said a dealer with a European bank in Shanghai.

Dealers said the yuan was likely to hover between 8.2770 and 8.2775 in the short run, near the strong end of a wafer-thin range of 8.2760 to 8.2800 that the central People's Bank of China enforces to guard against shocks to the economy.

Currency movements within that box are decided basically by China's trade performance because the yuan is not fully convertible on the capital account.

Yesterday, the yuan softened against the Japanese currency to 6.9038 per 100 yen from 6.9021 and eased to 8.9182 against the euro from 8.8997. It closed flat against the Hong Kong dollar at 1.0609.

(China Daily April 11, 2003)