US Dollar to Chinese Yuan exchange rate history 1981 to 2026: the managed yuan
One US Dollar bought 1.7100 CNY in 1981 and 6.8072 CNY in 2026. The managed yuan. The series covers 46 years of annual data.
- 2026 avg
- 6.8072
- year to date
- Highest avg
- 8.6397
- 1994
- Lowest avg
- 1.7100
- 1981
- Traded range
- 1.5264 to 8.7409
- low 1981, high 1994
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXCHUS). Latest daily observation 2026-10-30.
Annual averages of daily observations.
USD/CNY since 1981
US Dollar to Chinese Yuan averaged 1.7100 CNY in 1981 and 7.1875 CNY in 2025, 320.3% higher across 45 complete years.
The annual average has ranged from 1.7100 in 1981 to 8.6397 in 1994. On individual trading days the series reached 1.5264 and 8.7409, a ratio of 5.7 to 1.
What moves USD/CNY
USD: The US dollar is the world's main reserve currency and the base leg for most foreign exchange trading.
CNY: The yuan is managed by the People's Bank of China through a daily fixing and a trading band, with capital controls still in place.
For USD/CNY, the USD leg responds to Federal Reserve policy, US inflation and Treasury yields, safe-haven demand, while the CNY leg responds to daily fixing and trading band, capital controls, trade and current account. The exchange rate is the market's attempt to balance the two sets of forces.
How the People's Bank of China manages USD/CNY
USD/CNY includes a managed currency. The yuan is managed by the People's Bank of China through a daily fixing and a trading band, with capital controls still in place.
A managed float is not a fixed peg. The central bank sets a reference rate and intervenes to limit volatility, but the market still sets the level over time. That produces long stretches of stability punctuated by step changes when policy shifts.
China sets a daily reference rate and allows the yuan to trade in a band around it, while capital controls limit arbitrage. In this series the average moved +320.3% over 45 complete years, with a traded range from 1.5264 to 8.7409.
The five largest USD/CNY moves
Ranked by absolute year-end change, the five largest moves were 1994 (+45.6%), 1984 (+41.1%), 1989 (+26.9%), 1986 (+16.3%), 1985 (+14.5%). The biggest was 1994, when the rate moved from 5.8145 to 8.4662, a change of 45.6%.
Across 45 complete years the pair rose in 22 and fell in 19. The average annual change was +3.7% with a standard deviation of 10.9 percentage points, which is one way to compare its volatility with other pairs.
USD/CNY by decade
Grouped by decade, the annual average was 2.8394 in 1981-1989 and 6.9079 in 2020-2026. The widest decade-to-decade change was +152.4% between 1981-1989 and 1990-1999, when the average moved from 2.8394 to 7.1673.
The final bucket, 2020-2026, is a partial decade and includes the year-to-date 2026 average. The table below shows every bucket with its high and low, so the short-run moves and the long-run level can be read together.
How to read the USD/CNY data
The annual figures are averages of the daily observations in Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXCHUS). Highs and lows are the most extreme single observations in each calendar year, not intraday highs. No figure on this page is estimated or interpolated.
USD/CNY annual average, 1981 to 2026
Annual average with the full trading range for each year. average high–low range
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXCHUS). Figures are annual averages of daily observations.
USD to CNY exchange rate by year
Every year since 1981: annual average, the year high and low, the year-end rate, and the change on the previous year.
| Year | Average | High | Low | Year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.7100 | 1.8367 | 1.5264 | 1.7499 | n/a |
| 1982 | 1.8979 | 2.0046 | 1.7393 | 1.9275 | +10.2% |
| 1983 | 1.9810 | 1.9991 | 1.8949 | 1.9859 | +3.0% |
| 1984 | 2.3303 | 2.8027 | 1.9859 | 2.8027 | +41.1% |
| 1985 | 2.9434 | 3.2095 | 2.8027 | 3.2095 | +14.5% |
| 1986 | 3.4616 | 3.7314 | 3.1935 | 3.7314 | +16.3% |
| 1987 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 0.0% |
| 1988 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 3.7314 | 0.0% |
| 1989 | 3.7673 | 4.7339 | 3.7314 | 4.7339 | +26.9% |
| 1990 | 4.7921 | 5.2352 | 4.7334 | 5.2352 | +10.6% |
| 1991 | 5.3337 | 5.4478 | 5.2352 | 5.4478 | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 5.5206 | 5.9007 | 5.4124 | 5.7662 | +5.8% |
| 1993 | 5.7795 | 5.8245 | 5.7076 | 5.8145 | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 8.6397 | 8.7409 | 8.4662 | 8.4662 | +45.6% |
| 1995 | 8.3700 | 8.4647 | 8.2916 | 8.3374 | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 8.3389 | 8.3549 | 8.3267 | 8.3284 | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 8.3193 | 8.3290 | 8.2911 | 8.3100 | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 8.3008 | 8.3180 | 8.2774 | 8.2789 | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 8.2783 | 8.2800 | 8.2770 | 8.2795 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8.2784 | 8.2799 | 8.2768 | 8.2774 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 8.2770 | 8.2786 | 8.2676 | 8.2766 | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 8.2771 | 8.2800 | 8.2700 | 8.2800 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 8.2772 | 8.2800 | 8.2765 | 8.2767 | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 8.2768 | 8.2774 | 8.2764 | 8.2765 | 0.0% |
| 2005 | 8.1936 | 8.2765 | 8.0702 | 8.0702 | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 7.9723 | 8.0702 | 7.8041 | 7.8041 | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 7.6058 | 7.8127 | 7.2946 | 7.2946 | -6.5% |
| 2008 | 6.9477 | 7.2946 | 6.7800 | 6.8225 | -6.5% |
| 2009 | 6.8307 | 6.8470 | 6.8176 | 6.8259 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 6.7696 | 6.8330 | 6.6000 | 6.6000 | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 6.4630 | 6.6364 | 6.2939 | 6.2939 | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 6.3093 | 6.3879 | 6.2221 | 6.2301 | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 6.1478 | 6.2438 | 6.0537 | 6.0537 | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 6.1620 | 6.2591 | 6.0402 | 6.2046 | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 6.2827 | 6.4896 | 6.1870 | 6.4778 | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 6.6400 | 6.9580 | 6.4480 | 6.9430 | +7.2% |
| 2017 | 6.7569 | 6.9575 | 6.4773 | 6.5063 | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 6.6090 | 6.9737 | 6.2649 | 6.8755 | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 6.9081 | 7.1786 | 6.6822 | 6.9618 | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 6.9042 | 7.1681 | 6.5208 | 6.5250 | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 6.4508 | 6.5716 | 6.3435 | 6.3726 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 6.7290 | 7.3048 | 6.3084 | 6.8972 | +8.2% |
| 2023 | 7.0809 | 7.3430 | 6.7010 | 7.0999 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 7.1957 | 7.2993 | 7.0106 | 7.2993 | +2.8% |
| 2025 | 7.1875 | 7.3499 | 6.9931 | 6.9931 | -4.2% |
| 2026 YTD | 6.8072 | 6.9965 | 6.6538 | 6.6538 | -4.8% |
1981–2026 · 45 complete calendar years. Annual figures are averages of available daily observations. 2026 is year to date: the average is based on 209 published trading days through 2026-10-30.
Five largest USD/CNY moves
The largest absolute year-end changes in the published series, using complete calendar years only.
- 1994 +45.6% 5.8145 to 8.4662
Year-end rate moved from 5.8145 to 8.4662, a change of 45.6%.
- 1984 +41.1% 1.9859 to 2.8027
Year-end rate moved from 1.9859 to 2.8027, a change of 41.1%.
- 1989 +26.9% 3.7314 to 4.7339
Year-end rate moved from 3.7314 to 4.7339, a change of 26.9%.
- 1986 +16.3% 3.2095 to 3.7314
Year-end rate moved from 3.2095 to 3.7314, a change of 16.3%.
- 1985 +14.5% 2.8027 to 3.2095
Year-end rate moved from 2.8027 to 3.2095, a change of 14.5%.
USD/CNY by decade
Annual averages grouped into decade buckets. The first and last buckets may cover fewer than ten years.
| Period | Average | High | Low | vs previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1989 | 2.8394 | 4.7339 | 1.5264 | n/a |
| 1990–1999 | 7.1673 | 8.7409 | 4.7334 | +152.4% |
| 2000–2009 | 7.8937 | 8.2800 | 6.7800 | +10.1% |
| 2010–2019 | 6.5048 | 7.1786 | 6.0402 | -17.6% |
| 2020–2026 | 6.9079 | 7.3499 | 6.3084 | +6.2% |
Average of the annual averages in each period. The first and last rows cover partial decades.
USD/CNY history: the years that moved the rate
Each event below is dated and tied to one of the currencies in this pair.
- 1994 1994-01-01
China unifies its dual exchange rates
China merged its official and swap market exchange rates at about 8.70 yuan per US dollar, a large effective devaluation of the official rate.
- 2005 2005-07-21
China revalues the yuan and ends the dollar peg
China revalued the yuan by 2.1 percent to 8.11 per dollar and moved to a managed float against a basket of currencies.
- 2015 2015-08-11
China guides the yuan lower
The People's Bank of China changed the daily fixing mechanism and allowed the yuan to depreciate sharply over several days, unsettling global markets.
USD/CNY history: common questions
What was the USD/CNY rate in 1981?
One USD averaged 1.7100 CNY in 1981, with a range of 1.5264 to 1.8367 and a year-end rate of 1.7499.
What is the highest USD/CNY rate on record?
The highest annual average was 8.6397 in 1994. The highest single observation was 8.7409 in 1994.
What was the biggest single-year move in USD/CNY?
1994 was the largest, at +45.6%. The year-end rate moved from 5.8145 to 8.4662.
How volatile has USD/CNY been?
Across 45 complete years the average annual change was +3.7% with a standard deviation of 10.9 percentage points. The largest drawdown was 28.5%, from 1994 to 2013.
What is the lowest USD/CNY rate on record?
The lowest annual average was 1.7100 in 1981. The lowest single observation was 1.5264 in 1981.
What is the USD/CNY rate in 2026?
The 2026 average is 6.8072 CNY per USD, based on the year to date. The latest complete year, 2025, averaged 7.1875.
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