Yuan overtook euro in October

China’s yuan overtook the euro in October, becoming the second-most used currency in trade finance, global transaction services organisation Swift said yesterday.

The market share of yuan usage in trade finance, or Letters of Credit and Collection, grew to 8.66% in Oct 2013. That improved from 1.89% in Jan 2012.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, now ranks behind the US dollar, which remains the leading currency with a share of 81.08%. The top five countries using the yuan for trade finance in October were China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, and Australia, Swift said in a statement.