China's onshore yuan held steady on October 8 as mainland markets reopened after the week-long National Day break, according to Reuters. The currency had firmed in offshore trading during the holiday even as the dollar rallied.

The yuan has climbed almost 9% against the dollar since late 2024, gaining for seven straight quarters on the back of strong exports and measures aimed at drawing foreign capital into China. Its holiday performance came as the dollar index touched an 18-month high earlier in the week.

In mid-morning trade, the onshore yuan stood at 6.7030 per dollar. That was slightly firmer than its close on September 30, the final session before the holiday.

Ahead of the open, the People's Bank of China fixed its midpoint rate weaker at 6.7367 per dollar. The weaker fixing took account of the dollar index's rise of about 0.8% over the holiday period.

Nanhua Futures said a softer euro had helped lift the dollar, as worries mounted over debt levels in Europe. Even with the dollar index advancing, "the offshore yuan remained resilient, suggesting the yuan's appreciation trend has not ended," Nanhua Futures said in a note.

The offshore yuan rose roughly 0.1% during Golden Week, supported by China's export strength.

"Our analysis suggests that Chinese export growth still has some runway over the next few years, despite the historically high trade surplus," Goldman Sachs said in a report.

Duncan Wrigley, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said heavy capital outflows were partly countering the upward pressure on the currency.

"The trade surplus is generating large foreign currency inflows, partly absorbed by private portfolio outflows," Wrigley said in a note.

Official figures published on September 29 showed Chinese residents bought $119bn of foreign bonds and $44bn of offshore equities and investment funds in the first half of 2026. Wrigley said the wide gap between yields on Chinese government debt and US Treasuries was likely driving the purchases.