SHANGHAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China"s yuan firmed against the dollar on Tuesday, after data showed the country"s exports growth unexpectedly accelerated in August. The People"s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.4533 per dollar prior to market open, 4 pips weaker than the previous fix of 6.4529. In the spot market, the yuan opened at 6.4553 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.4548 at midday, 32 pips firmer from the previous late session close. China"s exports unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in August, as solid global demand offset some of the pressure on the world"s second-biggest economy from a resurgence of domestic COVID-19 cases and supply bottlenecks. "The robust China exports figure should help alleviate concern over a slowdown for China"s economy and excessive RMB basket strength," Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank in Hong Kong, said in a note. "The PBoC should be less tempted to allow more RMB depreciation to support export growth and will be less urgent to bring forward its required reserves ratio (RRR) cut to this month." Official data on Monday also showed global investors raised their holdings of Chinese government bonds (CGBs) to a record high for a fifth straight month in August. China"s securities regulator officials said they would further deregulate and open capital markets to foreign investors. While the dollar has recovered from a selloff after last week"s disappointing U.S. jobs data, prevailing uncertainties about the economy mean the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to raise rates, said Maybank in a note. "A case of Fed taper delay supports sentiment and could weigh on USD in the interim, assuming no unexpected resurgence in COVID infection," Maybank said. The global dollar index fell to 92.154 from the previous close of 92.192. The offshore yuan was trading at 6.4496 per dollar. The yuan market at 0427 GMT: ONSHORE SPOT: Item Current Previous Change PBOC midpoint 6.4533 6.4529 -0.01% Spot yuan 6.4548 6.458 0.05% Divergence from 0.02% midpoint* Spot change YTD 1.14% Spot change since 2005 28.22% revaluation Key indexes: Item Current Previous Change Thomson 98.49 98.56 -0.1 Reuters/HKEX CNH index Dollar index 92.154 92.192 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 6.4496 0.08% * Offshore 6.6251 -2.59% 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 Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sam Holmes) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.