(Yicai Global) Feb. 11 -- The Chinese yuan started off the week by softening against the US dollar after China's week-long Spring Festival holiday drew to a close yesterday.
 

The onshore yuan spot rate opened at 6.7426, down from the 6.7391 reported at the close on Feb. 1, the onshore market's last trading day before the break.  

The offshore spot rate was 6.7724, 129 points stronger than the Feb. 8 close of 6.7853 in New York. During the Chinese holiday week, the yuan traded at between 6.7464-6.7967 range against the greenback in the Big Apple.
 

The redback performed strongly against the dollar before the vacation, hitting new six-month highs on four straight days in a cumulative 0.73 percent rise, but dropped in the last trading day before it began. 
 

The country's central bank the People's Bank of China set the central parity rate between the two currencies at 6.7495 today, 414 basis points cheaper than the redback was on Feb. 1.  
 

The market will keep a close eye on the continuing China-US trade talks set to restart later this week. The world's first- and second-largest economies will hold high-level negotiations from Feb. 14-15 in Beijing to iron out their remaining beefs before a March 2 deadline before more tariffs kick in.
 

The two delegations, led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, respectively, will build on negotiations that occurred in Washington, DC late last month.
 

Both sides cited major advances after that session wrapped up on Jan. 31.

Editor: Ben Armour