By Summer Zhen
       HONG KONG, June 28 (Reuters) - The yuan rose slightly
against the dollar but remained near seven-month lows, with the
first U.S. presidential debate of 2024 providing little impetus
for the market.
    Supported by firmer central bank guidance, the yuan
 was 0.01% higher at 7.2678 to the dollar as of 0312
GMT, after trading in a range of 7.2641 to 7.2685. 
    Analysts said the first debate between Democratic U.S.
President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump had
little impact on China markets as there was less China-bashing
and discussion of tariffs on Chinese goods than expected.
    Citi analyst Valery Berenshtein said in a note to clients
that the dollar might gradually tick higher against offshore
yuan on hints from Trump that he could take a harder stance on
China. Offshore yuan traded at 7.2994 yuan per dollar, up
about 0.07% in Asian trade.
    The yuan also found support amid some unwinding of short
positions at the end of the month, according to market
participants.
    That said, the yuan is set to log its sixth straight month
decline in June on capital flows into the higher-yielding dollar
and amid speculation that China's central bank is not vehemently
against its depreciation.
    Prior to the market opening, the People's Bank of China set
the midpoint rate, around which the yuan is allowed
to trade in a 2% band, at 7.1268 per dollar, 1,459 pips firmer
than a Reuters' estimate. 
    Keiko Kondo, head of multi-Asset investments for Asia at
Schroders, said persistently high U.S. interest rates have put
Chinese policymakers in a tough position. 
    "They don't want the currency to weaken too much but also
because of the weakness of the economy they want to be
accommodative," she said. It would be hard for the yuan and
other low-yielding Asian currencies to shake off their downward
trends in the near-term, she added. 
    The yuan has lost 2.3% so far this year. It has been under
pressure since early 2023, hurt by China's prolonged property
sector crisis and anemic consumer spending.
    The market's attention is set to turn to data for May's U.S.
core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, a key
inflation report and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, which
is due later on Friday and could offer clues to the U.S. rate
outlook. 
    Spot yuan opened at 7.2680 per dollar and was
last trading 11 pips firmer than the previous late session close
and was 1.98% weaker than the midpoint.

Key onshore vs offshore levels:
• Overnight dollar/yuan swap onshore -23.00 pips vs. offshore
-23.00
• Three-month SHIBOR 1.9 % vs. 3-month CNH HIBOR 3 %
    
  LEVELS AT 03:11 GMT GMT
 INSTRUMENT   CURRENT    UP/DOWN(-)  % CHANGE  DAY'S   DAY'S 
              vs USD     VS.         YR-TO-DA  HIGH    LOW
                         PREVIOUS    TE                
                         CLOSE %                       
 Spot yuan    7.2678           0.02     -2.28  7.2641   7.2685