The People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China announced on Friday (30th) that starting from January 3 next year, the trading hours of the interbank foreign exchange market will be extended from 9:30 am to 11:30 pm to 9:30 am until three o’clock the next morning. Including RMB foreign exchange and its forward, exchange transactions, currency exchange transactions and all transaction items of options.
The adjustment will cover more trading sessions in Asian, European and North American markets. According to reports, this move will help expand the depth and breadth of China’s domestic foreign exchange market, promote the coordinated development of onshore and offshore foreign exchange markets, provide more convenience for global investors, and further enhance the attractiveness of RMB assets.
In addition, in order to make the currency basket of the RMB exchange rate index more representative, China Foreign Exchange Trade System plans to adjust the currency basket weights of the CFETS RMB exchange rate index and the SDR currency basket RMB exchange rate index in accordance with the “CFETS RMB Exchange Rate Index Currency Basket Adjustment Rules”. The currency basket and weight of the BIS currency basket RMB exchange rate index will remain unchanged. The new version of the index will come into effect on January 1 next year.
Compared with this year, the ranking of the top ten weighted currencies in the new CFETS currency basket has not changed. Among them, the weights of the top three U.S. dollars and the euro and Japanese yen have decreased, and the weight of the fourth-ranked Hong Kong dollar has increased. Weight decreased, weight increased for AUD and NZD, weight decreased for SGD, weight increased for CHF, weight decreased for CAD.
After the announcement, both offshore and onshore renminbi rose. The offshore renminbi rose more than 600 points against the U.S. dollar within a day, regaining the 6.91 mark, a new high since September this year;
