China\\\'s yuan a growing force in global finance: study

China’s yuan is a growing force in global finance, more than doubling in use over the past year, according to a new study from the Institute of International Finance. Although its use in the international payments system remains dwarfed by the dollar and euro, the yuan, officially known as the renminbi, grew to 1.4 per cent of total transactions. That jump moved it ahead of the Hong Kong and Singapore dollars and even with the Swiss franc, the sixth most used currency in global transactions, the IIF study said. In trade finance, overwhelmingly dominated by the US dollar, the yuan jumped into 2nd place last year ahead of the euro and the Japanese yen, comprising eight per cent of transactions. And despite Beijing’s still firm controls on its use, the yuan has become the ninth most-traded currency on foreign exchange markets, the volume hitting $120 billion daily on average, compared with $34 billion in 2010. The study by the IIF, a global association of leading banks, said the gains have come as Beijing slowly frees up the currency for international use, according to BSS.