Chinese c.bank sets yuan mid-point at 6.8278

SHANGHAI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The central bank set the
mid-point of the yuan's CNY=CFXS CNY=SAEC exchange rate
against the dollar on Friday as follows.

Mid-point Previous day's mid-point Previous day's close

6.8278 6.8274 6.8284

SOURCE: The People's Bank of China, the central bank, issues
the data through the interbank market, the China Foreign Exchange
Trade System (www.chinamoney.com.cn).

The yuan may rise or fall 0.5 percent from its mid-point each
day, but it has moved only a small fraction of its band in most
trading sessions since it was revalued by 2.1 percent to 8.11 per
dollar on July 21, 2005.

In the three years following the revaluation, the central
bank allowed the yuan to appreciate a further 19 percent against
the dollar. The yuan's traded peak since the revaluation was
6.8099, reached on Sept. 23, 2008.

Since July 2008, however, the central bank has used the
mid-point to keep the yuan at a virtual peg to the dollar within
a narrow 100-pip range, to protect China's economy as it
confronted a slowdown due to the global financial crisis.
(Reporting by Chen Yixin and Jacqueline Wong)