PBOC Snuffs Out Yuan Movement as China Tackles Stock-Market Rout

China’s central bank has adopted a vice-like grip on the yuan, allowing near-zero movement as policy makers contend with a sell-off in the stock market.

The currency’s closing levels in Shanghai this week have been 6.2096 or 6.2097 versus the dollar, matching the tightest range recorded since a fixed exchange rate ended a decade ago. While there’s been a de-facto peg of about 6.20 in place since March, daily moves have been kept to no more than 0.01 percent for the past month and a gauge of expected swings fell this week by the most in five months.