Beijing gave a strong warning against bets on renminbi depreciation and released a batch of positive lending data earlier than usual, spurring China’s currency to bounce back from a 16-year low touched last week.

The People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Monday that authorities “are capable of and feel confident in?.?.?.?keeping the renminbi exchange rate at a reasonably stable level”. The renminbi rose as much as 1 per cent on Monday to an intraday high of Rmb7.2698 against the dollar.

“We will act when we act, resolutely correcting one-sided speculation,” the central bank added, referring to mounting bets against the currency’s dollar exchange rate driven by a string of underwhelming economic readings as China’s economy struggles to regain momentum.