Chinese yuan weakens to 6.7095 against dollar

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi or the yuan, weakened 444 pips to 6.7095 against the US dollar Thursday, according to China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 per cent from the central parity rate each trading day, according to Xinhua News Agency.

As per the news agency, the central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Amid the COVID-19 return to the country, the Chinese economy faces twin challenges of the shrinking job market and an ageing population, according to a report.

According to the Policy Research Group (POREG), the headline jobless rate has zoomed to a two-year high of 6.1 per cent, as further proof of the economic fallout wrought by the country's strictest pandemic protocols.

The think tank pointed out that China's stimulus spurs since the pandemic first exploded a couple of years ago mainly zeroed in on the supply side.

As China faces the huge economic impact of the virus, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for an accelerated pace and ramped-up efforts in the implementation of macro policies.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, last week made the remarks while chairing a symposium on stabilizing growth, held in Yunnan Province.

According to Xinhua news agency, he highlighted efforts to stabilize the growth of market entities and shore up employment and people's basic livelihoods, underpinned by stable growth.

A survey conducted by the China Institute for Employment Research (CIER) at the Renmin University of China and job search website Zhaopin indicate that the number of jobs available per applicant among fresh university graduates in China fell to 0.88 in the fourth quarter of 2021, cited The Hong Kong Post.

The number of jobs in China declined to 12.07 million in 2020 from 12.79 million in 2019. According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate in urban areas in 2021 was as high as 14.3 per cent for people aged between 16 to 24 years. (ANI)