Agence France Presse

Beijing, July 21:

China today revalued its currency for the first time in about a decade, scrapping the peg to the dollar in favour of a basket of currencies. The currency is now valued at 8.11 yuan to the US dollar compared to the old rate of 8.2765 yuan, effectively a two per cent revaluation. The move was effective from 1100 GMT. “From today, the renminbi rate against the US dollar will appreciate by two percent,” said the website of China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, (PBOC), “One US dollar will exchange for 8.11 yuan.” Almost simultaneously, Malaysia scrapped the ringgit currency’s peg to the dollar and said it would move to a managed float. The dollar sank to 110.38 yen immediately following the Chinese announcement. It had stood at 112.50 yen before the move. The PBOC also said it has scrapped the yuan peg to the US dollar and repegged the Chinese unit to a basket of trade-weighted currencies, but did not reveal what they were.