The appreciation of China's currency of Renminbi (RMB) is speeding up, with the daily benchmark rate rising to a new high of 7.9499 yuan against the U.S. dollar on Monday, breaking the 7.95 mark for the first time.

Meanwhile the trade price between yuan and U.S. dollar in the inter-bank market even reached 7.9385 during the business day. So far, the yuan's value has risen 4.08 percent since the method of calculating the value of the RMB was reformed in July last year.

The RMB has been inching upward since its value was raised by two percent when it was linked to a basket of foreign currencies in July last year, scrapping its decade-old method of pegging the currency to the U.S. dollar.

China has been allowing the RMB to fluctuate plus or minus 0.3 percent a day according to the benchmark rate set by the central bank.

The fluctuation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar is currently reaching its daily limits.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2006)