SHANGHAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - China's offshore yuan firmed past the closely watched 7-per-dollar level early on Monday to the strongest level since mid-September, as Beijing eased some of its strict COVID-19 curbs, which could attract fresh foreign inflows.
The offshore yuan gained roughly 0.5% to as high as 6.9820 per dollar, the strongest since Sept. 15, following a record weekly gain of about 2.5% amid economic reopening expectations.
In the onshore market, China's central bank set the yuan's midpoint at the strongest since Nov. 16.
More cities including Urumqi in the far west announced an easing of curbs on Sunday as China tries to make its zero-COVID policy more targeted and less onerous after unprecedented protests against restrictions.
China's benchmark index CSI300 jumped nearly 10% in November, as mainland stock market witnessed monthly net inflows exceeding 60 billion yuan ($8.55 billion) via the cross-border Stock Connect scheme.
The yuan's strength was also aided by expectations of a slower pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening. The dollar index is down nearly 9% from its late September peak, and trades near a five-month low. ($1 = 7.0190 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Sam Holmes)
