Beijing, January 1:

The Chinese currency, the yuan, is likely to rise five per cent in value in 2007 to end the year at 7.44 to one US dollar, state media reported today, citing a group of local economists.

The appreciation of the yuan is expected to proceed at a faster pace in the first half of the year than in the second, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report compiled by a team of 80 economic analysts.

The 80 analysts were charged by Xinhua to forecast likely changes in key macroeconomic figures in the year ahead, the agency said. The yuan ended the year on Friday at a post-revaluation high of 7.8087 to the dollar. It was the seventh record set since the beginning of December, following on from Thursday’s new high, the China Foreign Exchange Trading Centre said.