China's yuan admitted to IMF's benchmark currency basket as output falls

The IMF admitted China’s yuan into its benchmark currency basket, in a victory for Beijing’s campaign for recognition as a global economic power.

The decision, which will boost China in the long term, comes shortly before a new survey showed manufacturing activity in China hit a three-year low in November, as authorities seek to prop up growth in the world’s second largest economy.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics’ official Purchasing Managers’ Index hit 49.6 in November, its lowest reading since August 2012 and down from the previous month’s reading of 49.8.