Reuters: China’s yuan ended 2010 on a strong note, pushing past 6.59 per dollar on Friday to close the year up 3.6 percent and fanning hopes that it will see even more gains next year.The currency closed at 6.5897 per dollar, capping nine trading days that saw it rise 1.3 percent from a recent low and giving a decisive close to the year after the currency zig-zagged from mid-October to mid-December.
The yuan’s strength came after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set its mid-point at a record high for the second straight day, signaling the central bank may be engineering a fresh leg of yuan appreciation ahead of the visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States in mid-January.
China-based traders expect the yuan to rise about 2 percent in the first quarter of 2011. For all of next year, it could gain around 6 percent as Beijing uses currency appreciation as a tool to fight consumer inflation, which hit a 28-month high in November, they said. Read more at Reuters.….