China lowers yuan midpoint to 3-week low; CFETS basket index at highest since 2016

China's central bank on Wednesday set its official yuan midpoint at a near three-week low, while its value against its major trading partners jumped to the highest since early 2016.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint at 6.4806 yuan per dollar prior to the market open, 49 pips, weaker than the previous fix of 6.4757. It was the weakest since June 24.

The weaker fixing, however, has pushed China's trade-weighted yuan basket index to 98.45, the highest since March 16, 2016, according to Reuters' calculation based on official data.