China started to set the yuan (also known as the renminbi, or RMB) spot rate based on the previous day’s close in August 2015.
In June, the yuan exchange rate fell to the lowest level since December 2010 following the UK vote to leave the European Union.
Renminbi became the second most used currency in trade finance in 2014, as well as the fifth largest payment currency and the sixth largest foreign exchange currency in the world, according to SWIFT statistics.
China has been striving to make the renminbi an international reserve currency since the late 2000s. In late 2015, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde announced that the yuan had received reserve currency status. The Chinese currency is set to officially become a reserve currency in September.
