No Demand for the Yuan? Net Sales of the Chinese Currency Slip Back Into Negative Territory

As of June this year, Kazakhstan’s exchange offices recorded net sales of the Chinese yuan at minus 16.6 million tenge. This marks the second month in the first half of 2025 with a negative net sales volume (the same situation was previously observed in March, at minus 9.3 million tenge).

For comparison, in the full year of 2024, there was only one month when exchange offices recorded a negative net sales volume of the Chinese yuan.

At the same time, in January–June of this year, net sales of the Chinese yuan by exchange offices totaled 403.1 million tenge, down 44.2% compared with the same period in 2024. However, against January–June 2023, the figure nearly doubled. Positive net sales of the Chinese yuan in the first half of the year have now been recorded for five consecutive years. The last negative reading was in the first half of the “coronavirus crisis” year 2020, when the volume fell by as much as minus 1.1 billion tenge.

By region, positive net sales volumes of the yuan in the first half were reported in 16 out of Kazakhstan’s 20 regions. Almaty accounted for the largest share at 279.7 million tenge. Far behind were Karaganda Region with 44.9 million tenge, Kostanay Region with 32.9 million tenge, and Pavlodar Region with 25.6 million tenge.

Three regions recorded negative results: Astana at minus 43.6 million tenge, Zhetysu Region at minus 12.6 million tenge, and Almaty Region at minus 1.3 million tenge. In another region, Turkestan, there was no activity in yuan trading at all.

The decline in net sales of the Chinese yuan came against the backdrop of a strengthening exchange rate. In the second quarter of 2025, the yuan averaged 71.02 tenge — up 1.3% from the previous quarter and 14.9% higher compared with the second quarter of 2024.

As of July this year, the yuan’s exchange rate stood at 73.75 tenge — 2.9% higher than in June and 12.8% above the level of July 2024.

The final month of summer began with the yuan at 75.15 tenge, peaking at 75.54 tenge on August 12. By August 24, however, the rate had retreated to 74.85 tenge.