China Foreign Exchange Trade System: In September, the offshore (CNH) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar, and the onshore (CNY) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar.

On October 12, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System published an article stating that in September, the offshore (CNH) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar, and the onshore (CNY) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar; the daily average price spread (absolute value of CNY-CNH) was 30 BP, a decrease of 3 BP from the previous month; the CFETS RMB exchange rate index and the RMB exchange rate indices referencing the BIS currency basket and the SDR currency basket rose by 1.31%, 1.34%, and 1.44% respectively from the end of the previous month. Offshore RMB bond issuance increased from the previous month. The CNH HIBOR overnight, 7-day, 3-month, and 1-year rates rose by 8 BP, rose by 5 BP, rose by 1 BP, and were basically unchanged, respectively, from the end of the previous month. The original text is as follows: September 2026 Offshore RMB Market Review Summary In September, the offshore (CNH) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar, and the onshore (CNY) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar; the daily average price spread (absolute value of CNY-CNH) was 30 BP, a decrease of 3 BP from the previous month; the CFETS RMB exchange rate index and the RMB exchange rate indices referencing the BIS currency basket and the SDR currency basket rose by 1.31%, 1.34%, and 1.44% respectively from the end of the previous month. Offshore RMB bond issuance increased from the previous month. The CNH HIBOR overnight, 7-day, 3-month, and 1-year rates rose by 8 BP, rose by 5 BP, rose by 1 BP, and were basically unchanged, respectively, from the end of the previous month. 1 Offshore RMB deposits in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan In August 2026, the scale of RMB deposits in the offshore markets of Hong Kong and Taiwan decreased from the previous month. Among them, the scale of RMB deposits in Hong Kong was 1,101.496 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.1% from the previous month, and the scale of RMB deposits in Taiwan was 109.989 billion yuan, an increase of 3.2% from the previous month. Cross-border trade settlement amount in Hong Kong was 1,537.623 billion yuan, an increase of 11.1% from the previous month. In August 2026, the scale of RMB deposits in Macao was 73.739 billion patacas (61.429 billion yuan denominated in RMB), an increase of 4.4% from the previous month (an increase of 4.1% from the previous month when denominated in RMB). 2 Offshore RMB foreign exchange market In September, the offshore (CNH) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar, and the onshore (CNY) RMB spot exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar. Spot market: On September 30, the CNH spot exchange rate against the US dollar closed at 6.7089, appreciating 0.14% from the end of the previous month; the CNY spot exchange rate against the US dollar closed at 6.7053, appreciating 0.22% from the end of the previous month; the daily average price spread (absolute value of CNY-CNH) was 30 BP, a decrease of 3 BP from the previous month. The CFETS RMB exchange rate index and the RMB exchange rate indices referencing the BIS currency basket and the SDR currency basket were 103.20, 110.61, and 98.06, respectively, rising 1.31%, 1.34%, and 1.44% respectively from the end of the previous month. Exchange rate derivatives market: In terms of prices, the CNH 1-year swap point closed at -2102 BP, down 278 BP from the end of the previous month; the CNY 1-year swap point closed at -2112 BP, down 289 BP from the end of the previous month. The absolute value of the onshore and offshore daily average swap point spread (CNH-CNY) was 13 BP, up 2 BP from the previous month. In terms of trading volume, in September 2026, the trading volume of HKEX USD/CNH futures standard contracts was 1.6465 million contracts, an increase of 19.9% from the previous month, and open interest at month-end was 34,500 contracts, an increase of 7.3% from the previous month. HKEX USD/CNH options contracts traded 30 contracts, an increase of 20.0% from the previous month, and open interest at month-end was 126 contracts, a decrease of 40.9% from the previous month. In August 2026, the trading volume of SGX USD/CNH futures standard contracts was 4.1381 million contracts, a decrease of 0.4% from the previous month, and open interest at month-end was 247,300 contracts, an increase of 15.5% from the previous month. SGX USD/CNH options contracts traded 11,756 contracts, an increase of 133.6% from the previous month, and open interest at month-end was 18,902 contracts, an increase of 78.9% from the previous month. 3 Offshore RMB bond market In September, 97 bonds were issued in the offshore RMB bond market, 3 fewer than the previous month, with an issuance amount of 184.227 billion yuan, an increase of 68.8% from the previous month. 4 Offshore RMB money market At the end of September, the overnight, 7-day, 3-month, and 1-year CNH HIBOR closed at 1.4621%, 1.4682%, 1.6361%, and 1.6694%, respectively, rising 8 BP, rising 5 BP, rising 1 BP, and basically unchanged from the end of the previous month. The average spreads between offshore and onshore interbank lending rates (HIBOR-SHIBOR) for overnight, 7-day, 3-month, and 1-year were -4 BP, 0 BP, 20 BP, and 19 BP, respectively, down 2 BP, down 2 BP, up 1 BP, and down 2 BP from the previous month's average. At the end of September, the 7-day, 3-month, and 1-year CNH forward implied yields closed at 1.3024%, 1.2555%, and 1.3538%, respectively, rising 16 BP, falling 6 BP, and falling 1 BP from the end of the previous month. 5 Dynamics of overseas institutions in the domestic interbank market As of the end of September, the total number of overseas institutions participating in the domestic interbank foreign exchange market reached 262, an increase of 5 from the previous month. In the foreign exchange spot market, there were 30 overseas clearing banks (an increase of 1 from the previous month), 77 overseas participating banks (unchanged from the previous month), and 70 overseas central bank-type institutions (unchanged from the previous month). The total number of overseas institutions and their products participating in the domestic interbank local currency market reached 5,895 (units), an increase of 23 (units) from the end of the previous month. Among them, there were 187 central bank-type institutions, 494 commercial banks, 254 non-bank financial institutions, 43 medium- and long-term institutional investors, and 4,917 investment products issued by financial institutions, an increase of 6, a decrease of 10, an increase of 3, a decrease of 1, and an increase of 25 respectively from the end of the previous month. In September, in the domestic interbank foreign exchange market, the total trading volume of overseas institutions was 2,261.696 billion yuan, an increase of 6.23% month-on-month. Among them, the foreign exchange spot trading volume was 152.460 billion yuan, an increase of 16.2% month-on-month; the foreign exchange derivatives trading volume was 846.319 billion yuan, an increase of 33.5% month-on-month; the foreign currency lending and foreign currency repo trading volume was 1,262.917 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.4% month-on-month. In the domestic interbank money market, the total trading volume of overseas institutions was 1,308.520 billion yuan, a decrease of 9.7% month-on-month. In the domestic interbank bond market, the total transaction amount of overseas institutions was 1,197.307 billion yuan, a decrease of 14.9% month-on-month. Among them, the transaction amount of overseas central bank-type institutions was 189.066 billion yuan, a decrease of 14.8% month-on-month; the transaction amount of overseas commercial banks was 828.933 billion yuan, a decrease of 15.0% month-on-month; the transaction amount of overseas non-bank financial institutions (including overseas medium- and long-term institutional investors) was 55.839 billion yuan, an increase of 10.7% month-on-month; the transaction amount of investment products issued by overseas financial institutions was 123.469 billion yuan, a decrease of 22.8% month-on-month. This article was compiled from the China Money Market official account, GMTEight editor: Chen Wenfang.