China loan curbs, yuan surge and holiday spending in focus as Beijing juggles pressures

AI summary

<p>China's financial regulator has quietly told major banks to suspend new loans to five U.S.-sanctioned Iranian oil refiners, while the yuan surged to its strongest PBOC fixing since March 2023 amid easing Middle East tensions. </p><p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Summary:</p><ul class="[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"><li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">China's National Financial Regulatory Administration verbally instructed the country's largest lenders to suspend new yuan-denominated loans to five refineries recently sanctioned by the U.S. for their ties to Iranian oil, though existing credit was not to be called in, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter; Reuters could not immediately verify the report</li><li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">The guidance, delivered before May 1, stands in direct contrast to a May 2 notice from China's Ministry of Commerce telling firms to disregard U.S. sanctions, marking the first use of China's blocking measures introduced in 2021 to protect firms from what Beijing considers unwarranted foreign intervention, per Reuters reporting</li><li class="whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Among the firms under review is Hengli Petrochemical, China's largest private refiner, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in April over allegations it purchase