THE yuan regained its position as the sixth most actively used currency for domestic and international payments in November with a market share of 1.75 percent, global transaction service provider SWIFT said Thursday.

Overall yuan payments value increased by 23.35 percent from October, while payments in all currencies rose by 2.84 percent.

The yuan dropped to the seventh most used currency in October, which was likely due to seasonal effects from the Golden Week holiday in China.

Hong Kong remained the biggest offshore yuan center with a market share of 74.05 percent, followed by Britain (5.85 percent), Singapore (4.21 percent) and South Korea (3.98 percent), according to SWIFT.

The yuan jumped to the fourth most used currency two years ago, but gradually lost momentum as the volatile foreign exchange rate and uncertainty about policy direction dampened foreign investors’ interest in using or holding the currency.

The yuan firmed against the U.S. dollar Thursday, underpinned by a stronger official midpoint and broad greenback weakness in overseas markets as Treasury yields retreated.

The Chinese currency also looked set to post its steepest annual gain since 2008, reversing three straight years of depreciation.

Recent moves in the yuan have pushed its year-to-date gain to around 6.2 percent against the dollar, recovering from a loss of about 6.5 percent a year earlier, the worst annual performance since 1994. (SD-Agencies)