China's yuan at a new high against dollar

Beijing: Under unrelenting pressure from nation's around the world China's currency reached a new high on Monday as the central parity rate of the yuan was set at 6.6732 per dollar, according to official data.

This was stronger than the previous rate of 6.6830 on 8 October.

Inspite of its protestations to the contrary, China has ensured that its currency has maintained a steady upward climb ever since June of this year when it announced that it would ease its grip over the yuan's exchange rate against the dollar.

Its move came even as US legislators announced their intention to impose tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing failed to significantly upgrade the value of its currency.

The US House of Representatives has already approved legislation authorising president Barack Obama to impose import tariffs on China if the yuan does not rise significantly, while the US Senate is mulling passage of a similar bill.

Based on Monday's rate, the yuan has strengthened against the dollar by about 2.26 per cent from the rate of 6.8275 per dollar set before the announcement in June to increase flexibility.