HONG KONG -- China's central bank has doubled down on efforts to firm up the softening yuan, hatching a rare large-scale market intervention here to rein in speculation accelerating the slide.
The People's Bank of China apparently has been buying yuan for dollars on the Hong Kong market through state-owned banks since the end of last week. The yuan hit 6.58 to the dollar in offshore trading Tuesday -- 2.5% stronger than its weakest-ever level reached last Thursday, and in line with the onshore rate for the first time in around two months. The intervention is a clear sign that the central bank will not tolerate a major depreciation in the yuan, said Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS.
