By Georgina Lee
       HONG KONG, June 27 (Reuters) - China's yuan firmed on
Tuesday, after the central bank set the daily fixing stronger
than market expectations for the second day in a row, bolstering
speculation authorities were becoming less tolerant of the
currency's weakness.
    The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate
at 7.2098 per U.S. dollar prior to market open, weaker than the
previous fix 7.2056, but nearly 100 pips stronger than Reuters'
consensus estimates.
    Tuesday's fixing was the biggest upward deviation that the
PBOC has made since May when the current selloff began, analysts
said.
    "After two consecutive days of sizeable deviation in the
fixing, it appears to be a signal that the PBOC is pushing back
more strongly," said Alvin Tan, head of Asia currency strategy
at RBC Capital Markets.
    The spot yuan opened at 7.2400 per dollar and was
changing hands at 7.2180 in early trade, 245 pips stronger than
the previous late session close and 0.11% weaker than the
midpoint.
    The spot rate is currently allowed to trade with a range 2%
above or below the official fixing on any given day.
    "The fixings suggest some low but rising discomfort with the
pace of depreciation, and may help to slow the (yuan fall) from
there," said Citi in a note on Tuesday. 
    The yuan has been weighed down by China's faltering economic
growth and the wide interest rate differential between the U.S.
and China. While China has eased some monetary settings,
analysts said modest interest cuts alone would have limited
impact in stimulating weak household demand without fiscal
support measures.
    The global dollar index fell to 102.573 from the
previous close of 102.692. 
    The offshore yuan was trading 0.07% weaker than the
onshore spot at 7.2227 per dollar. 
    The one-year forward value for the offshore yuan
traded at 7.0112 per dollar, indicating a roughly 3.02%
appreciation within 12 months.
    

    The yuan market at 1:58AM GMT: 
    
    ONSHORE SPOT:
 Item               Current  Previous  Change
 PBOC midpoint                         
                                        -0.06%
                    7.2098   7.2056    
                                       
                                       
 Spot yuan                             
                                        0.34%
                    7.218    7.2425    
                                       
                                       
 Divergence from                       
 midpoint*                             
                    0.11%              
 Spot change YTD                       
                                        -4.41%
 Spot change since 2005                
 revaluation                            14.66%
 


    OFFSHORE CNH MARKET   
  
 Instrument            Current   Difference
                                 from onshore
 Offshore spot yuan              
        *                        -0.07%
                       7.2227    
                                 
                                 
 Offshore                        
 non-deliverable          7.011  2.84%
 forwards                        
               **                
 
*Premium for offshore spot over onshore
**Figure reflects difference from PBOC's official midpoint,
since non-deliverable forwards are settled against the midpoint.
. 
    
    

    
  
    
  
   

 (Reporting by Georgina Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)