Chinese Yuan Edges Out Euro as Second-Most Used Currency in Global Trade Finance

The yuan became the second-most used currency in the global trade finance market in September, surpassing the euro for the first time since the data started being available some six years ago, according to a monthly tracker of the Chinese currency released by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

The yuan’s share of global trade finance climbed to 5.8% in value last month from 4.82% in August, whereas the share of the euro dropped from 6.43% to 5.43%, the most recent tracker, released by SWIFT on Oct. 18, showed. SWIFT data on the value of the yuan used in global trade finance date back to June 2017, when its share was 1.88% and the euro’s was 7.97%.