The offshore yuan stabilized around 7.35 per dollar following the People’s Bank of China’s unexpected announcement to temporarily pause government bond purchases due to a supply shortage. This unexpected decision follows a sharp decline in benchmark bond yields to record lows and a prolonged depreciation of the yuan, underscoring mounting concerns about China’s economic outlook, driven by a worsening property market crisis, weak consumer spending, and the threat of deflationary pressures. The central bank stated that purchases would resume based on supply and demand conditions in the government bond market. Meanwhile, economic data released on Thursday indicated that China's annual consumer prices edged down to 0.1% in December 2024, compared to 0.2% in November, marking the lowest rate since March. Additionally, producer prices declined by 2.3% year-on-year, the softest contraction since August, and slowing from a 2.5% drop in the previous month.