MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. The yuan overtook the euro and for the first time became the second main currency in trade, according to data from the international SWIFT system.

The share of the Chinese currency in international payments increased from 4.82% in August 2023 to 5.8% in September, which is the highest in the last five years during which statistics are kept.

The dollar still retains the first place - in September its share in trade settlements was 84.15% compared to 83.95% a month earlier.

The euro ranks third most used currency in international payments. In September, its share decreased to 5.43% from 6.43% in August.

The Japanese yen ranks fourth with its share increasing from 1.28% in August to 1.4% in September. It is followed by the Saudi rial with a share of 0.56% in September down from 0.63% in August.