The closing trading rate of RMB against the US dollar was 8.0560 on Monday, an increase of 48 basis points from before the Spring Festival holiday, the China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

 

On Monday, the trading rate touched its lowest level of 8.0550, the newspaper said.

 

During China's one-week Spring Festival period, the US Federal Reserve decided to raise the short-term interest rate by another 0.25 percent, which insiders in China regard as a major factor leading to the appreciation of yuan, a currency once pegged on the US dollar.

 

The RMB exchange rate has witnessed both ups and downs with a two-way moderate fluctuation after the peg to the dollar was scrapped. The country now manages the yuan's value against a basket of currencies including the US dollar, the Euro and the Yen.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2006)