September 30, 2016
Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the launch of the new Special Drawing Right (SDR) valuation basket including the Chinese renminbi (RMB), and the new currency amounts that will determine the value of the SDR during the new valuation period.
As approved by the Executive Board of the IMF on November 30, 2015, effective October 1, 2016, the RMB is determined to be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the euro, Japanese yen, and the British pound ( see Press Release No. 15/543).
The Board also decided at that time that the weights of each currency would be 41.73 percent for the U.S. dollar, 30.93 percent for the Euro, 10.92 percent for the Chinese yuan, 8.33 percent for the Japanese yen, and 8.09 percent for the Pound sterling.