China's central bank sets yuan reference rate below 6.8 per dollar for first time since 2023

China's central bank, the PBOC, set its daily yuan reference rate at 6.7989 per US dollar on Friday, July 10, 2026 (19 Tir 1405), the first time the fixing has fallen below the 6.8 threshold since 2023. According to Bloomberg, the move signals the central bank's comfort with the yuan's strengthening trend. Following the decision, the offshore yuan rose as much as 0.3% to 6.7785 per dollar, its biggest daily jump in nearly a month. The move comes even as the US dollar is simultaneously drawing safe-haven demand from the renewed escalation in US-Iran tensions.