The yuan is expected to remain stable as China continues to stick to an easier monetary policy while there is a reluctance to raise pressure on Chinese exporters who would favor the currency not to appreciate too quickly.

The Chinese currency ended slightly lower against the United States dollar last week to close at 6.8247 on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The yuan closed at 6.8221 by the end of the previous week.

"China will continue to stay with a rather loose monetary policy while making some slight changes when needed," Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said last Friday at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai.

China's exports fell 23 percent from a year earlier last month, compared with a drop of 17 percent in March, the Customs reported last week.

The pace of the yuan's appreciation will not match that of last year's as there will be reluctance to increase pressure on small and medium export-oriented companies.

(Shanghai Daily May 18, 2009)