Exclusive-China's central bank asks financial institutions about dollar weakness, sources say

(Reuters) -China's central bank has asked some financial institutions about their views on recent U.S. dollar weakness, people with knowledge of the matter said.

In the survey conducted last week, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) asked questions related to the U.S. dollar's movements and the causes of its recent weakness and outlook for the Chinese yuan exchange rate, the sources said.

The PBOC did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

While the PBOC did not explicitly state the purpose of its recent survey, one of the sources said he interpreted it as a sign authorities are concerned about a sharp appreciation of the yuan against the weakening dollar.

Another source directly involved in the survey said it seemed to be an assessment of the dollar's outlook as trade negotiations with the U.S. progress.

The survey comes days before U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs on imports from dozens of countries expires on Wednesday, and a month before a reprieve on triple-digit tariffs on China expires.

U.S. trade and economic policies this year have weighed heavily on the dollar. The dollar index, which reflects the U.S. currency's performance against a basket of six others, has had its worst first half of the year since 1973, declining some 11%. It has fallen by 6.6% since April 2 alone.

China's yuan has been relatively stable, however, and is up just 1.3% since Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariffs.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Sam Holmes)