Chinese Yuan Weakens To Nearly Five-Year Low

By Samantha Tan BEIJING, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- The central parity rate of the Chinese currency, the renminbi or yuan, depreciated to its weakest point in nearly five years, Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. The yuan's central parity rate lost 332 basis points to 6.5646 against the US dollar, the lowest level since March 18, 2011, it quoted data released by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System (CFETS). As- end 2015, the CFETS exchange rate composite index, which measures the yuan's strength relative to a basket of 13 foreign currencies, stood at 100.94, up 0.94 per cent, from the previous year. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. -- BERNAMA