Yuan stable

SHANGHAI: China´s yuan edged up against the dollar on Thursday, bolstered by firmer central bank guidance and as the greenback erased earlier gains spurred by higher U.S. interest rates.

The Chinese central bank also resisted following the Federal Reserve´s move to hike rates, a surprising decision that came as data showed the world´s second-biggest economy lost more steam than expected. "May economic data have showed weakness in the economy. I believe they would choose not to raise the interest rates now in order to keep the economic growth momentum," said Ken Cheung, senior Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank in Hong Kong. Prior to market opening on Thursday, the People´s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.3962 per dollar, 194 pips or 0.3 percent firmer than the previous fix of 6.4156. In the spot market, the onshore yuan opened at 6.3951/dollar and was changing hands at 6.3955 at midday, 52 pips firmer than the previous late session close.