Bank Report Damps Yuan

The yuan is likely to decline against the United States dollar because a bank report indicated that investors are generally "optimistic" about the outlook for the American economy, experts said.

The Chinese currency was little changed against the greenback at 6.8380 on January 23, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan ended at 6.8383 on January 16.

The foreign exchange market was closed for Spring Festival last week.

"The dollar may be strong in the near future as investors are generally optimistic about the outlook for the American economy and hoping that the newly elected president would carry out more measures," according to a research note by the Bank of China. "But the dollar will not return to the level in the first half of last year." The US House of Representatives passed an US$819-billion stimulus last Wednesday, and the new plan is set to save or create more than 3 million new jobs over the next few years.