RMB jumps to 8th spot as most traded currency in the world

Market share is now up to 1.49%.

According to a release, following the Bank for International Settlements report about foreign exchange (FX) turnover published in September 2013, SWIFT took a closer look at the RMB FX confirmations on its network. 

The SWIFT RMB Tracker shows that RMB is now the 8th most traded currency in the world with a 1.49% market share in August 2013, up from position #11 and 0.92% market share in January 2012. In that period, RMB FX trading value increased by 113% and the Chinese Renminbi overtook the Swedish Krona, Korean Won and Russian Rouble.

Patrick de Courcy, Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Markets & Initiatives, Asia Pacific at SWIFT said: “SWIFT data shows that 60% of the RMB FX trading activity is done out of the United Kingdom - a reflection of the strong position London has in the global FX market. The United States is second in global RMB FX trading, while France – the leading Eurozone country in exchanging RMB payments (see April Tracker) – overtook Singapore in June 2013.”

As world payments currency, the RMB fell one position to #12 in August 2013, with a market share of 0.84% compared to 0.87% in July 2013 – with the Thai Bhat now taking place #11.