Yuan appreciates to record high of 6.5695 per US dollar

The Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB), or the yuan, on Thursday strengthened 41 basis points to 6.5695 per US dollar, a record high, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. 

Thursday's central parity rate of the RMB against US dollar was 10 basis points lower than the previous record of 6.5705 set on 21 Feb 2011.

The yuan has appreciated a mere 3.78 per cent since 19 June last year when the People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced it would allow appreciation of the currency to align it with its true market value.

At that point of time China was under intense political pressure from the United States to strengthen its currency. These pressures have eased by now and the nominally communist nation has gone its own merry way deciding the pace at which it will allow the currency to strengthen.

China allows the yuan to rise or fall 0.5 per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the RMB against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market for each business day.