IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Yuan hits six-month high in January

The central parity rate of the renminbi (the yuan) hit a six-month high against the US dollar in January. The yuan strengthened to 6.7025 against the dollar on Thursday, the highest level since last July, before falling 56 basis points to 6.7081 on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. January saw a 2.4-percent rise for the yuan, its strongest month in a year. Analysts attributed the rise mainly to a weaker dollar last month and improved optimism for the global market.

Bigger service trade deficit in December