USD/CNY central parity rate: 6.8375, up 60 basis points from the previous day, indicating CNY appreciation. Other major central parity rates: EUR/CNY: 7.9437 100 JPY/CNY: 4.2979 GBP/CNY: 9.1562

 

 

Bank foreign exchange settlement: 1.7673 trillion yuan; foreign exchange sales: 1.4920 trillion yuan; net settlement: 275.3 billion yuan. Cross-border capital flows: slight net outflow in March, returned to net inflow in April; average net inflow reached 14.9 billion US dollars in March and April. Trading volume: Forex market turnover hit 3.7 trillion US dollars in April. Cross-border receipts and payments of non-banking sectors stood at 1.6 trillion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 15%. Enterprise hedging: Derivatives transactions rose 22% year-on-year in the first four months. The hedging ratio stood at 33.6%, up 3.7 percentage points, showing improved risk management capacity.

 

 

US Dollar Index (DXY): Closed at 99.192 in New York on May 18, down 0.09%, edging lower while staying at a high level. EUR/USD: 1.1637, slightly stronger. USD/JPY: 159.01, staying firm near the 160 mark, with market expectations of official intervention lingering. Indian Rupee: Hit a record low of 96.18 amid Middle East tensions and rising oil prices, down about 5.5% so far this year.

 

 

Escalating Middle East tensions disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil traded around $101 per barrel, pushing up inflation expectations, supporting the US dollar and weighing on non-dollar currencies. Russian Ruble strengthened. Russia’s central bank resumed forex operations in May and made net foreign currency purchases for the first time since 2022 to curb excessive ruble appreciation and safeguard exports.

 

 

SAFE stated that China’s forex market remains generally stable and cross-border capital flows are becoming more balanced. Federal Reserve: Interest rates are highly likely to remain unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% at the FOMC meeting on May 28-29. Market odds for rate cuts before September are below 30%.