China’s currency hit its weakest ever offshore trading level against the U.S. dollar, with the yuan CNHUSD, -0.68% falling below 7.2 to the dollar for the first time since a separate system for trading the currency outside mainland China was launched more than a decade ago.
The move caps a fall of about 12% for the offshore yuan against the dollar this year and comes despite repeated attempts by China’s central bank to support its currency. The U.S. dollar has gained against currencies around the world amid a campaign of aggressive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.