China joins the SDR club

China has become the first developing country to have its currency — the renminbi — placed in the International Monetary Fund's benchmark basket of lending reserves, the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)

SDRs: Reserve asset
created by IMF in 1969
as supplement to
member countries'
foreign exchange
reserves. Member
can exchange
SDRs for hard
currency through
trading deals
with other
countries

Value: There are
no notes or coins.
U.S. dollar-value
is calculated as
sum of currencies
based on exchange
rates quoted at
noon each day
on London market

British
pound

8.09%

Japanese yen

US$

8.33%

41.73%

Euro

SDR basket
(from Dec 1, 2015)

30.93%

Renminbi
(Chinese yuan)

204.1bn

Total SDRs:

10.92%

$280.06bn*

Value:

Beijing's reforms: Tying exchange rate of renminbi (yuan) at start of daily trading to its previous day's close — was set by People's Bank of China — better access for foreigners to Chinese currency markets, expanded trading hours

¥/$
2.7%

Aug 2015: 2.7% devaluation of yuan seen as move towards markets fixing currency's value

*1SDR = $1.372170, Nov 30, 2015

Source: International Monetary Fund

China joins the SDR club

China has become the first developing country to have its currency — the renminbi — placed in the International Monetary Fund's benchmark basket of lending reserves, the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)

SDRs: Reserve asset created by IMF in 1969 as supplement to member countries' foreign exchange reserves. Member can exchange SDRs for hard currency through trading deals with other countries

Value: There are no notes or coins. U.S. dollar-value is calculated as sum of currencies based on exchange rates quoted at noon each day on London market

US$

Euro

41.73%

30.93%

SDR basket
(from Dec 1, 2015)

Total SDRs:

204.1bn

Value:

$280.06bn*

Renminbi
(Chinese yuan)

British
pound

Japanese yen

8.09%

8.33%

10.92%

Beijing's reforms: Tying exchange rate of renminbi (yuan) at start of daily trading to its previous day's close — was set by People's Bank of China — better access for foreigners to Chinese currency markets, expanded trading hours

Aug 2015: 2.7% devaluation of yuan seen as move towards markets fixing currency's value

¥/$
2.7%

*1SDR = $1.372170, Nov 30, 2015

Source: International Monetary Fund

China joins the SDR club

China has become the first developing country to have its currency — the renminbi — placed in the International Monetary Fund's benchmark basket of lending reserves, the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)

SDRs: Reserve asset created by IMF in 1969 as supplement to member countries' foreign exchange reserves. Member can exchange SDRs for hard currency through trading deals with other countries

Value: There are no notes or coins. U.S. dollar-value is calculated as sum of currencies based on exchange rates quoted at noon each day on London market

SDR basket
(from Dec 1, 2015)

US$

Euro

41.73%

30.93%

Total SDRs:

204.1bn

Value:

$280.06bn*

British
pound

Renminbi
(Chinese yuan)

8.09%

10.92%

Japanese yen

8.33%

*1SDR = $1.372170, Nov 30, 2015

Beijing's reforms: Tying exchange rate of renminbi (yuan) at start of daily trading to its previous day's close — was set by People's Bank of China — better access for foreigners to Chinese currency markets, expanded trading hours

¥/$
2.7%

Aug 2015: 2.7% devaluation of yuan seen as move towards markets fixing currency's value

Source: International Monetary Fund