SHANGHAI, July 2 (Reuters) - China"s yuan slipped to a one-week low against the dollar on Friday and looked set for its fifth straight weekly losses, as rising expectations for strong U.S. job growth lifted the greenback. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later in the session could affect the Federal Reserve"s policy trajectory to pare back stimulus earlier than expected. The outcome was also likely to bring volatility to major currencies. Prior to market opening, the People"s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.4712 per dollar, 3 pips weaker than the previous fix of 6.4709. But the official fixing came in much weaker than market had expected, according to traders and analysts. It was 36 pips weaker than Reuters" estimate of 6.4676. In the spot market, the onshore yuan opened at 6.4697 per dollar, slipped to a one-week low of 6.4789 before changing hands at 6.4772 at midday, 72 pips away from the previous late session close and 0.09 percent away from the midpoint. If the spot yuan finishes the late night session at the midday level, it would have weakened 0.34% to the dollar for the week, posting the fifth weekly loss in a row. Despite the recent weakness against the greenback, the yuan remains strong against a basket of currencies. The CFETS basket index, a gauge that measures the yuan"s value against its major trading partners, continued to rise on Friday to 98.21, according to Reuters calculations based on official data. Markets widely believe authorities want to see 98 as the ceiling for the index, as a stronger reading could weigh on Chinese exports. Several currency traders said the weaker-than-expected midpoint fixing could rein in some of the yuan"s strength against the basket. Carie Li, economist at Wing Hang Bank, said the solid CFETS index suggested China"s economic fundamentals continued to support the yuan. "With many parts of the world, including many Asian countries, suffering from the pandemic, China"s relative economic advantage seems to continue to support the yuan to remain stable despite a rising dollar," Li said, expecting the yuan to trade between 6.4 and 6.5 per dollar in the near term. By midday, the global dollar index fell to 92.559 from the previous close of 92.569, while the offshore yuan was trading at 6.481 per dollar. The yuan market at 4:01AM GMT: ONSHORE SPOT: Item Current Previous Change PBOC midpoint 6.4712 6.4709 0.00% Spot yuan 6.4772 6.47 -0.11% Divergence from 0.09% midpoint* Spot change YTD 0.79% Spot change since 2005 27.78% revaluation Key indexes: Item Current Previous Change Thomson 98.12 98.18 -0.1 Reuters/HKEX CNH index Dollar index 92.559 92.569 0.0 *Divergence of the dollar/yuan exchange rate. Negative number indicates that spot yuan is trading stronger than the midpoint. The People"s Bank of China (PBOC) allows the exchange rate to rise or fall 2% from official midpoint rate it sets each morning. OFFSHORE CNH MARKET Instrument Current Difference from onshore Offshore spot yuan 6.481 -0.06% * Offshore 6.6452 -2.62% non-deliverable forwards ** *Premium for offshore spot over onshore **Figure reflects difference from PBOC"s official midpoint, since non-deliverable forwards are settled against the midpoint. . (Reporting by Winni Zhou and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Kim Coghill) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.