2020.01.3105:44:00UTC+00Chinese Yuan Advances To 8-day High Against U.S. Dollar

The Chinese yuan strengthened against the U.S. dollar in the Asian session on Friday, as China's official manufacturing data met expectations.

Survey from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China manufacturing sector fell into stagnation in January - posting a manufacturing PMI score of 50.0.

That's down from 50.2 in December, and it now sits right on the line that separates expansion from contraction. It matched expectations.

The yuan climbed to an 8-day high of 6.9314 against the greenback from yesterday's closing value of 6.9363. The yuan is likely to find resistance around the 6.8 mark.

The People's Bank of China set today's central parity rate of the yuan at 6.8876 per dollar, compared to Thursday's rate of 6.8853. The Chinese central bank sets central parity rate every morning and allows the yuan to fluctuate up to 2 percent from that level.