Yuan retreats amid trading-band speculation

China's yuan retreated from a 19-year high after the central bank lowered the daily reference rate by the most since August amid speculation the currency's trading band will be expanded. The yuan dropped the most in two months as the People's Bank of China set the fixing 0.12 percent lower at 6.2416 per dollar. The band in which the yuan is allowed to fluctuate, currently 1 percent, will be widened "in the near future", Deputy Governor Yi Gang said on Wednesday at an International Monetary Fund conference in Washington. The currency has risen 0.8 percent this year, compared with 1 percent for all of 2012.

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