Comparing USD/CNY Exchange Rates
You should always check the total cost for any exchange rate you are provided by banks or FX specialists. These exchange rates almost always contain a margin from the wholesale USD/CNY rate ( interbank mid-rate) plus fixed or percentage fees.
These margins and fees can vary significantly for USD to CNY International Money Transfers, Travel Money and prepaid multi-currency Travel Card transactions. Note the total cost will also vary on the currencies and total amount being exchanged.
Calculate other USD/CNY amounts (from or to) at mid-market with our USD to CNY Calculator .
US dollar and Chinese yuan News
When determining the best time to make a foreign exchange transaction, in this case the USD vs CNY, you should pay attention to the recent market trends for both currencies.
US dollar (USD)
Chinese yuan (CNY)
The Chinese yuan appreciated 6 percent in 2020, which is prompting 'south bound' equity purchases on the Hong Kong share market.
Westpac see 10% growth in China this year with a corresponding positive impact on the iron ore price and commodity linked currencies such as AUD. NAB told Bloomberg TV that it sees a recovery in Asian currencies if the coronavirus comes under control.
In early August the offshore yuan surged to a decade high of 7.05 per US dollar, breaking the symbolic and closely watched USD/CNY = 7.0 exchange rate, after the trade war flared up again and the US labelled China a "currency manipulator".
Increasingly, the yuan is being used as a barometer for progress made on US-China trade talks.
Trade tensions have ramped up again since May when President Trump announced higher tariffs on Chinese goods, after China retaliated with tariffs of its own, and then after Trump placed Huawei on the "entity list," thereby making it impossible for the tech giant to do business with US firms.
Country Guides - Chinese yuan
 China (CNY) |
How to get Good USD to CNY Exchange Rates
There are two important ways to save on Foreign Exchange, the first is minimising unnecessary or excessive costs and fees, and the other is to transact when the exchange rate is in your favour.
Reduce Excessive costs and fees
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
The transaction margin you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money. The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
Our real-time foreign transfer and travel money/cards comparison calculators make shopping around easy and help you calculate how much you can save.
What is a good USD to CNY exchange rate?
This is always a difficult question as exchange rates are influenced by many factors, so a good method to consider the US dollar vs Chinese yuan current value is to look the USD/CNY historic rate and change over a range of periods.
The following table looks at the change in the USD to CNY exchange rate over periods from the previous week back to the last 10 years.
| USD/CNY | Change | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 6.4745 30 Apr 2021 | 0.6% ▼ | 1 Week |
| 6.5425 07 Apr 2021 | 1.7% ▼ | 30 Days |
| 6.4667 06 Feb 2021 | 0.5% ▼ | 90 Days |
| 7.0849 07 May 2020 | 9.2% ▼ | 1 Year |
| 6.4996 08 May 2016 | 1% ▼ | 5 Years |
| 6.4920 10 May 2011 | 0.9% ▼ | 10 Years |
USD/CNY 10 year historic rates & change to 07-May-2021 : 6.4325
Will the US dollar rise against the Chinese yuan?
It is almost impossible to predict what an exchange rate will do in the future, the best approach is to monitor the currency markets and transact when an exchange rate moves in your favour.
To help with this you can add USD/CNY to your BestExchangeRates My Rates Watchlist to track and benefit from currency movements.
Rather than requiring you to set a target rate, our FX Alerts work differently.
Once you add a currency pair for tracking in your watchlist we will automatically check the exchange rate for any UP▲ or DOWN▼ move over a range of periods over the recent 90 days.