China Pledges Further Reform of Its Currency

China said it would press ahead with reform of its currency regime with the aim of making the yuan more responsive to market forces.

The commitment was made in a joint statement by China and the European Union and coincided with the yuan briefly strengthening beyond 8 per dollar for the first time since the central bank revalued it by 2.1% and freed it from a dollar peg last July.

“China will further improve the [yuan] exchange-rate mechanism and constantly make the exchange rate more responsive to market supply and demand,” the statement said.