China’s currency strengthened in offshore trading after the People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate at the most robust level in more than eight months. The PBOC fixed the yuan’s central parity at 7.1385 per dollar on 24 July, 120 pips firmer than market forecasts and the highest since 6 November 2024. Following the stronger-than-expected fixing, the offshore yuan appreciated to 7.1506 per dollar, also marking its strongest point since November last year. Onshore trading opened at 7.1498, compared with the previous close of 7.1547. Despite the firmer rate against the dollar, other gauges pointed to lingering softness in the broader currency performance. The trade-weighted CFETS yuan basket index slipped to 95.59, its lowest reading since 10 July. Separately, data from SWIFT showed the renminbi’s share of international payments edged down to 2.88 % in June from 2.89 % in May.