(Yicai Global) Feb. 18 -- The Chinese yuan’s share of global payments by value reached a record high in January and it kept its position as the world’s fourth most used currency, The Paper reported yesterday, citing the latest data.

The yuan’s use in worldwide payments was 3.2 percent of the market, and the payment increased 10.9 percent from the month before, according to data released by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications on Feb. 16. Total payments in all currencies declined 6.48 percent month on month.

The US dollar, the Euro and the British pound were the top three currencies in international payments in January, accounting for 39.9 percent, 36.5 percent and 6.3 percent respectively, the report said. The redback rose to fourth place last December, overtaking the Japanese yen for the first time since August 2015.

The Chinese yuan ranked fifth among the International Monetary Fund’s reserve currencies in the third quarter last year at 2.66 percent, the highest rating since it was included in the IMF’s currency basket in 2016.

Foreign investors raised their holdings of Chinese bonds by USD166.6 billion in 2021, Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said earlier. “Yuan-denominated assets, which have a weak correlation with developed and emerging economies in terms of asset prices and benefits, are a nice choice for diversifying risks in international investment portfolios,” he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor