The offshore yuan inched higher to around 6.70 per US dollar on Thursday, after trading largely flat in the previous session, as China expanded its currency clearing framework in a fresh push to internationalize the yuan.
On September 14, the Shanghai Clearing House launched central counterparty (CCP) services for spot transactions in the Singapore dollar, New Zealand dollar and Thai baht. Twelve banks participated in the first session, clearing 996 million yuan (about $148 million) in total.
The new CCP services could pave the way for additional currencies to be cleared directly against the yuan, supporting Beijing’s broader effort to boost the currency’s global role. This comes alongside moves by Chinese banks this year to widen clients’ access to direct yuan trading, in response to growing cross-border trade and investment flows.
Separately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend for final preparatory talks ahead of the September 24 summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
