SHANGHAI/BEIJING : China's major state-owned banks were seen selling U.S. dollars to buy yuan in both onshore and offshore spot markets in early Asian trade on Tuesday, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, moves that would prop up the Chinese currency.
The selling comes after China's top leaders pledged on Monday to step up policy support for the economy amid a tortuous post-COVID-19 recovery, focusing on boosting domestic demand, signalling more stimulus steps.
Policymakers also said China will keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable at reasonable and balanced levels, and vowed to invigorate the capital market and restore investor confidence.
The onshore yuan strengthened more than 0.4 per cent to a high of 7.1550 per dollar before fetching 7.1623 as of 0223 GMT. Its offshore counterpart surged to a week high of 7.1475 before being last traded at 7.1629.