Thin trading range on stability vow

THE yuan will fluctuate within a close range in the near future as the Chinese government pledges to maintain a stable currency.

The Chinese currency dipped against the United States dollar last week to close at 6.8357 on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan ended at 6.8334 at the end of the previous week.

"Fluctuations in the exchange rate are inevitable amid the global financial turmoil, and what we have to do is to prevent the yuan from rising or falling too sharply," said Deng Xianhong, vice chairman of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Deng also noted keeping the exchange rate stable will be good for China and the world which is confronting a financial crisis.

Liu Hantao, a dealer at China Construction Bank, said the yuan will continue to adjust slightly in the near future and added the visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to China, which ended yesterday, would not have an immediate impact on the yuan's exchange rate.