Yuan deposits in HK close near record high

Yuan savings in Hong Kong increased in January to just 0.5% short of a record high in November 2011, a sign of growing investor confidence that the currency will appreciate, Bloomberg reported. Deposits climbed US$3.3 billion (RMB21 billion) from December to US$100.25 billion, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on its website Thursday. The US$5.14 billion increase in December was the fastest growth since August 2011. The yuan rose to a four-week high, as the central bank set the currency’s fixing at the highest level in over a month. It climbed 0.1% on Thursday to 6.2213 per dollar.