SHANGHAI, June 25 (Reuters) - China's yuan eased to a
fresh seven-month low against the dollar on Tuesday and looked
set for its sixth straight monthly decline in June, as the
country's central bank continued to guide the official fixing
weaker even as the greenback retreated overnight.
    The yuan has stayed within a whisker of the weak end of its
daily official trading band over the past week as capital
outflows into higher-yielding dollars and speculation the
central bank is allowing it to depreciate weigh on sentiment.
    The spot yuan dropped to a seven-month low of
7.2630 in morning trade on Tuesday, as traders took the day's
weak fixing as a sign the central bank may allow the currency to
slowly weaken even as the dollar loses steam.
    Prior to the market opening, the People's Bank of China
(PBOC) set the midpoint rate, around which the yuan
is allowed to trade in a 2% band, at 7.1225 per dollar, its
weakest level since November, 1,362 pips firmer than a Reuters
estimate.
    The weaker fix suggests the PBOC may want to allow a bit
more room for the yuan to weaken, Maybank analysts said in a
note, adding it was a little strange to see a weaker fix because
most currencies strengthened against the dollar overnight. 
    The dollar index fell overnight to 105.44 from a high
of 105.9 on Monday, as U.S Treasury yields dropped ahead of the
release of U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE)
inflation data expected this Friday.      
    The Chinese yuan is 2.2% weaker so far this year. It has
been under pressure since early 2023 due to domestic woes around
a moribund property sector and weak consumption. Falling yields
have driven capital flows out of yuan and foreign investors have
shied away from China's stock market.
    The offshore yuan could retest the 7.30 level
against the dollar on Thursday's U.S. presidential debate, but
the PBOC fix may be set stronger the following session to
counter the yuan's weakness, analysts at Citi wrote in a note to
clients. 
    The offshore yuan was trading at 7.2839 as of 0246 GMT.
    The onshore yuan opened at 7.2605 per dollar and
quickly weakened to 7.2629, the lowest level since Nov. 15,
2023.
    Based on Tuesday's official guidance, the yuan is allowed to
weaken to as low as 7.2650.
    In overnight cash settlement transactions, the yuan was
quoted at 7.2618 per dollar, implying it was just 32
pips from the weak end of the band in the overnight tenor.
    Markets will be watching economic data closely this week for
a clearer picture of the currency outlook.
    In addition to the U.S. PCE index, the Fed's favoured gauge
of inflation, China's May industrial profits are also due on
Friday and its June manufacturing survey will be released on
Sunday.

    
Key onshore vs offshore levels:
•Overnight dollar/yuan swap onshore -8.00 pips 
•Three-month SHIBOR 1.9 % vs. 3-month CNH HIBOR 3 %
 
LEVELS AT 0246 GMT
   
    
 INSTRUMENT  CURRENT  UP/DOWN(-  % CHANGE  DAY'S     DAY'S 
             vs USD   ) VS.      YR-TO-DA  HIGH      LOW
                      PREVIOUS   TE                  
                      CLOSE %                        
 Spot yuan   7.2629       -0.04     -2.22    7.2592    7.263