China fixes yuan at 5-yr low against the dollar

SHANGHAI: China’s central bank on Monday set the value of the yuan currency at a more than five-year low against the US dollar, according to the national foreign exchange market, in a pattern of weakness in anticipation of higher US interest rates.

The People’s Bank of China put the yuan—also known at the renminbi (RMB)—at 6.5784 to $1.0, down 0.45 percent from its fix on Friday, according to data from the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. The level was the lowest level since February 2011.China only allows the yuan to rise or fall two percent on either side of the daily fix, one of the ways it maintains control over the currency.