Latest news and statistics on China's economy and business climate.

 

Home   Rmb converter   Weather   Books    Q&A forum     Mailing list     Webmaster 

 

Renminbi exchange rates 1969-2008 

Click here for Renminbi (Chinese yuan) currency converter

RMB/CNY Exchange rates on 22 February 2008:
United States dollar CNY7.1463:US$1
Euro CNY10.5819:€1
Japanese Yen CNY6.6456:¥100
Hong Kong dollar CNY0.91631:HK$1

Pound sterling CNY14.0325:£1

[End-month rates for 2004-2007 at bottom of page.]

 

End-period

CNY/ USD 

CNY/ EUR

CNY per JPY100

CNY/ HKD CNY/ GBP

1969

2.46

-

       

1970

2.46

-

   

1971

2.46

-

       

1972

2.25

-

   

1973

1.99

-

       

1974

1.96

-

   

1975

1.86

-

       

1976

1.94

-

   

1977

1.86

-

       

1978

1.68

-

   

1979

1.56

-

       

1980

1.50

-

   

1981

1.70

-

0.7735 0.3041

1982

1.89

-

0.7607 0.3115

1983

1.98

-

0.8318 0.2736

1984

2.32

-

0.9780 0.2971

1985

2.9366

-

1.2457 0.3757

1986

3.4528

-

2.0694 0.4422

1987

3.7221

-

 2.5799 0.4774

1988

3.7221

-

2.9082 0.4828

1989

3.7651

-

2.7360 0.6139

1990

4.7832

-

3.3233 0.6845

1991

5.3233

-

3.9602 0.7124

1992

5.5146

-

4.3608 0.7441

1993

5.7620

-

5.2020 1.1153

1994

8.6212

-

8.5130 1.0919

1995

8.3490

-

8.0703 1.0760

1996

8.3143

-

7.1633 1.0719

1997

8.2897

-

6.3627 1.0681

1998

8.2791

-

7.1919 1.0678

1999

8.2783

-

8.0933 1.0651
2000 8.2783

-

7.2422 1.0606
2001 8.2770

-

6.3005 1.0606
2002 8.2770 8.6360 6.9035 1.0611
2003 8.2770 10.3383 7.7263 1.0657
2004 8.2765 11.2627 7.9701 1.0637
Jan 2004 8.2770 10.3201 7.8068 1.0649
Feb 2004 8.2771 10.3539 7.6010 1.0634
Mar 2004 8.2771 10.0865 7.8383 1.0614
Apr 2004 8.2770 9.7880 7.5031 1.0608
May 2004 8.2769 10.1584 7.4789 1.0616
Jun 2004 8.2766 10.0738 7.6367 1.0609
Jul 2004 8.2769 9.9834 7.4098 1.0608
Aug 2004 8.2767 9.9313 7.5090 1.0607
Sep 2004 8.2766 10.1970 7.4519 1.6110
Oct 2004 8.2765 10.5254 7.7859 1.0638
Nov 2004 8.2765 10.9764 8.0372 1.0640
Dec 2004 8.2765 11.2627 7.9701 1.0637
Jan 2005 8.2765 10.7833 8.0188 1.0609
Feb 2005 8.2765 10.9208 7.8503 1.0607
Mar 2005 8.2765 10.7180 7.7231 1.0608
Apr 2005 8.2765 10.6855 7.8489 1.0611
May 2005 8.2765 10.3722 7.6696 1.0636
Jun 2005 8.2765 9.9610 7.5149 1.0649
Jul 2005 8.1080 9.7778 7.1980 1.0422
Aug 2005 8.0973 9.8870 7.2970 1.0418
Sep 2005 8.0930 9.7593 7.1656 1.0430
Oct  2005 8.0840 9.8256 7.0197 1.0425
Nov 2005 8.0796 9.5453 6.7866 1.0416
Dec 2005 8.0702 9.5797 6.8716 1.0403
Jan 2006 8.0608 9.8447 6.9388 1.0394
Feb 2006 8.0415 9.5188 6.9168 1.0365
Mar 2006 8.0170 9.7507 6.8265 1.0331
Apr 2006 8.0165 10.0520 7.0197 1.0339
May 2006 8.0188 10.3016 7.1437 1.0350
Jun 2006 7.9956 10.1313 6.9467 1.0294
Jul 2006 7.9732 10.1699 6.9477 1.0259
Aug 2006 7.9585 10.2137 6.7894 1.02334 15.1619
Sep 2006 7.9087 10.0556 6.7274 1.01541 14.8409
Oct 2006 7.8792 10.0168 6.6983 1.01335 14.9681
Nov 2006 7.8436 10.3137 6.7373 1.00872 15.2629
Dec 2006 7.8087 10.2665 6.563 1.00467 15.3232
Jan 2007 7.7776 10.0798 6.3924 0.9962 15.2652
Feb 2007 7.7409 10.2366 6.5363 0.99072 15.1931
Mar 2007 7.7342 10.3068 6.5539 0.98993 15.1800
Apr 2007 7.7055 10.4999 6.4441 0.98518 15.3678
Jun 2007 7.6155 10.2337 6.1824 0.97436 15.2455
Jul 2007 7.5737 10.3839 6.3693 0.96805 15.3845
Aug 2007 7.5607 10.3321 6.5184 0.96985 15.2227
Sep 2007 7.5108 10.6312 6.5091 0.96834 15.2368
Oct 2007 7.4692 10.7829 6.5094 0.96375 15.4534
Nov 2007 7.3997 10.9275 6.7242 0.95009 15.2811
Dec 2007 7.3046 10.6669 6.4064 0.93638 14.5807

 

Renminbi: from fix to float?

Before the 1980s, the exchange rate of the renminbi was artificially fixed at just under 2.5 to the dollar. This rate did not reflect purchasing power parities, but as foreign trade played such a small part in China's economy that didn't matter much.

As the economy was opened to international trade in the 1980s, downward pressure on the currency emerged. By 1985, the current account was in deficit, while inward FDI flows remained relatively small.

Small devaluations from 1984 onward were insufficient to prevent the development of a black market in which the exchange rate was much lower. Meanwhile, foreigners visiting China were issued with a separate currency, "foreign exchange certificates" (FECs), which enjoyed only a limited circulation. Organisations, including foreign-invested enterprises, using large amounts of foreign currency were allowed to conduct limited transactions in "swap centres", where the exchange rate was lower than the official fixed rate.

In 1994, the currency was effectively devalued when the official and swap rates were unified. Since then, the renminbi has appreciated, then stabilised, as the current account has moved into comfortable surplus and FDI inflows have settled at a high level. The authorities are moving gradually towards a less rigidly-controlled exchange rate, with fluctuations allowed within a wider band, but a full float is unlikely in the near future.

On 21 July 2005 the peg against the US dollar was replaced by a link to a basket of currencies, but the exchange rate was simultaneously set within a narrow band around Rmb8.11:US$1, representing a far smaller appreciation than had been called for by the United States and other trading partners.

The four main currencies in the basket are the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the Korean won.

In following year and a half, however, a further gentle appreciation against the US currency has occurred. By end-2007, the renminbi had risen to 7.3 to the US dollar, significantly stronger than the Hong Kong dollar (which is fixed at HKD7.8:USD1 and has consequently come under upward pressure).

The renminbi is now appreciating more rapidly against the US dollar (and therefore the Hong Kong dollar), but not so rapidly against the other currencies, which are continuing to strengthen against the US currency.

Sources: State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People's Republic of China.