人民幣全球交易份額降至三年半低位

China’s hopes of achieving global acceptance for the renminbi have been set back by data showing the share of International transactions in its currency at its lowest level in more than three and a half years.

中國對人民幣獲得全球認可的希望遭遇挫折，數據顯示人民幣在國際交易中的份額降至逾三年半以來最低水平。

Data from the Swift global bank payment messaging network showed the share falling from 1.85 per cent in September to just 1.46 per cent last month, its lowest level since April 2014.

環球銀行金融電信協會(SWIFT)全球銀行支付信息網絡的數據顯示，人民幣在國際交易中的份額從9月份的1.85%下降到10月的1.46%，爲2014年4月以來的最低水平。

That means the currency’s share has nearly halved since its peak in 2015.

這意味着人民幣所佔份額自2015年見頂以來幾乎減半。

Markets had expected its global share to continue rising after the renminbi last year became the fifth currency to be added to the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights basket, joining the dollar, euro, yen and pound.

市場此前預計，繼去年人民幣成爲第五種被納入國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)特別提款權籃子的貨幣，加入美元、歐元、日元和英鎊的行列後，其全球份額將繼續攀升。

The renminbi’s admission was conditional on China becoming more transparent and opening its financial markets. The MSCI’s inclusion next year of China’s A-shares in its global indices continues this trend. China has also been opening its fixed income markets to foreign investors.

人民幣入籃的條件是中國變得更加透明，並開放金融市場。MSCI明晟明年把中國A股納入其全球指數將延續這一趨勢。中國也在向外國投資者開放其固定收益市場。

In spite of these measures and talk of internationalisation, “the reality is that the yuan is becoming less relevant in the international arena”, said Sue Trinh of RBC Capital Markets.

儘管有這些措施和國際化的言論，但“現實是人民幣在國際舞臺上變得越來越不相關了，”加拿大皇家銀行資本市場(RBC Capital Markets)的Sue Trinh表示。

The reason, she added, was down to “heavy-handed intervention across the financial markets” that has eroded the renminbi’s international appeal.

她補充說，原因在於“對各個金融市場的高壓干預”侵蝕了人民幣的國際吸引力。

China is weighed down by numerous and conflicting priorities, said Kit Juckes at Société Générale.

法國興業銀行(Société Générale)的基特?朱克斯(Kit Juckes)表示，中國被大量且互相沖突的優先事項拖累了。

“Beijing is trying to control capital flows, contain the shadow banking system and prevent a debt crisis, make sure the economy continues to grow, contain a pollution crisis, and promote the internationalisation of the currency,” Mr Juckes said. “That’s a lot of priorities which can’t all be achieved at the same time.”

朱克斯說：“北京正試圖控制資本流動，抑制影子銀行體系，防止債務危機，確保經濟持續增長，遏制污染危機，以及促進人民幣國際化。這是一大堆優先事項，不可能同時實現。 “

But its success in slowing capital outflows had helped stem declines in its currency reserves and increased the authorities’ control over the renminbi’s value, Mr Juckes added. “A temporary decrease in its use in global payments is probably a price worth paying.”

朱克斯表示，但中國在減緩資本流出方面的成功已經幫助阻止外匯儲備下滑，並加強了當局對人民幣價值的控制。 “全球支付使用量暫時下降很可能是一個值得付出的代價。”

The start of the renminbi’s loss of market share coincided with worries about China’s slowdown in August 2015, which triggered the renminbi’s devaluation, followed by another scare in January 2016, said Simon Derrick of BNY Mellon.

紐約梅隆銀行(BNY Mellon)的西蒙?德里克(Simon Derrick)表示，人民幣開始失去市場份額的時間，恰好是2015年8月人們開始擔憂中國經濟放緩之時，當時這方面的擔憂引發了人民幣貶值，2016年1月的又一次恐慌再次引發人民幣貶值。

“The decline seen over the past few months is even more interesting, given the lack of any obvious pressures in the renminbi market. Have we missed something?” added Mr Derrick.

德里克說：“鑑於人民幣市場並無任何明顯壓力，過去幾個月的下降更有意思。我們錯過了什麼嗎？”

The renminbi is now only the seventh most traded currency internationally, behind the Canadian dollar and just above the Australian dollar.

人民幣現在跌回全球第七大交易貨幣，排在加元之後，澳元之前。

The US dollar leads the way, with 39.47 per cent, followed by the euro (33.98 per cent), sterling (7.71 per cent), the Japanese yen (2.92 per cent) and the Swiss franc (1.63 per cent).

美元以39.47%排在第一位，其次是歐元（33.98%）、英鎊（7.71%）、日元（2.92%）和瑞士法郎（1.63%）。

The euro was the biggest gainer in the latest data, up 1 per cent on the previous month, while the dollar was down 0.3 per cent.

最新數據顯示歐元份額升幅最大，比前一個月上升1%，而美元份額下降了0.3%。