BOFIT Weekly Review 2015/05
Yuan rises to fifth-most-used currency in international payments
The international payments transfers network SWIFT reports that the Chinese yuan accounted for 2.2 % of the value of global payments in December. The yuan surpassed both the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar to become the world’s fifth-most-used currency in international payments. So, the yuan is closing in on the Japanese yen (2.7 % share). The US dollar continued to dominate international payment traffic at 44 %, followed by the euro at 28 %. The British pound accounted for almost 8 % of the value of transfers in December.
The Russian ruble’s ranking has long been dropping in the SWIFT Top 20 list of payments currencies. The ruble fell to 19th place in December, highlighting the trends of the Russian and Chinese currencies in recent years. In January 2012, the yuan ranked 20th in the SWIFT Top 20, while the ruble stood at 14th place.