China state banks buy dollars to ease sharp yuan rally, traders say

China's major state-owned banks were reported buying U.S. dollars around 6.52 yuan on Dec 31, 2020, according to traders. The onshore yuan had opened at 6.5204 per dollar and hit a high of 6.5148, its strongest level since June 2018.

The intervention was seen as an effort to slow the yuan's rally and keep it from breaching a key level.