Onshore and offshore yuan: two prices for one currency

[Shadow Trader]

China's currency trades in two places. CNY is the onshore version, tightly controlled and traded inside mainland rules. CNH is the offshore version, trading in Hong Kong and elsewhere with fewer restrictions.

Most retail platforms offer USDCNH. The offshore pair reacts more freely to global sentiment, so it can jump around when China news or US-China headlines appear.

The daily fixing, set by the People's Bank of China at about 9:15 Beijing time, anchors the onshore rate. The gap between the fix and the market expectation is itself a signal, closely watched by Asian desks.

For scalping, the pair has three quirks. Liquidity is thinner than the majors, so spreads are wider. Moves can be one-directional for hours when the central bank is leaning on the rate. And around the fix and Chinese data releases, volatility spikes briefly.

Another quirk is the lunch break. Chinese markets close around midday, and the pair can go flat for a spell, then reawaken.

Is the 9:15 Beijing fixing time a dependable volatility marker on USDCNH?