Dethroning the U.S. Dollar, one step at a time.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff are set to give the all-clear for China’s yuan to be included in the lender’s benchmark currency basket, laying the groundwork for a favorable decision by policymakers, people familiar with the discussions said late Sunday.
The IMF’s executive board is scheduled to decide in November on putting the yuan on a par with the dollar, yen, euro and pound sterling and a key factor will be its performance against a checklist of technical criteria, as assessed by IMF staff.
Three people briefed on the IMF discussions, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a draft report from staff reached a favorable conclusion on including the yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB).
“Everything is on course technically and there is no obvious political obstacle. The report leans clearly towards including the RMB in the (basket) but leaves the decision for the board,” one of the officials said, adding that a penciled-in early November date for staff to circulate their report to board members has been pushed back by several weeks.
Two other officials said staff would recommend the yuan join the basket, which determines the mix of currencies that countries like Greece receive as part of disbursements from the IMF.
“There is no real discussion, no obstacles, all seems on course,” a second official said.
Beijing is pushing for the yuan to join the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket as part of its long-term strategic goal of reducing dependence on the dollar and to mark the country’s coming of age as an economic power.
Full article: IMF set to approve yuan joining currency basket: sources (Asia Times)
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