Yuan at 20-year high as reference rate strengthened

The yuan advanced to its strongest level in 20 years as the People’s Bank of China raised the currency’s reference rate the most in two weeks. The PBOC boosted the daily fixing on Monday by 0.06 percent, the most since Dec 9, to 6.1161 per dollar. The International Monetary Fund is raising its US economic growth forecast as a budget deal in Washington and the Federal Reserve’s plan to taper its stimulus have eased doubts about the outlook for the world’s largest economy, Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in an interview aired on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The yuan will continue with its appreciation trend as better economies in the US and Europe help Chinese exports,” said Liu Dongliang, a senior analyst at China Merchants