USD/CNY jump to highest since February 2008

• USD/CNY prints fresh 11-year high above 7.15 on trade tensions.
• The PBOC fixed the reference rate at 7.0810, down 240 pips from Monday.

China's onshore Yuan (CNY) fell to 7.1592 per US Dollar soon before press time, marking the lowest level since February 2008.

The Chinese currency is now reporting almost 4% drop on a month-to-date basis.

The Yuan has come under pressure primarily due to escalating Sino-US trade tensions. President Trump softened his tone toward China on Monday, having escalated trade tensions by announcing several tariff measures on Friday.

Also, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) is getting increasingly comfortable with a weaker Yuan.

This is evident from the fact that the PBOC allowed CNY to fall below 7 per US Dollar earlier this month.  Also, the central bank has been steadily depreciating Yuan via the daily fix. For instance, the PBOC set the Yuan reference rate at 7.0810 today - down 240 pips from Monday's fix of 7.0570.

Pivot points