The renminbi reached a one-month high against the US dollar on Thursday as Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said currency policy should not be used to support exports, Bloomberg reported. The yuan closed at 6.8295, taking its appreciation streak to eight days. This is the longest run of increases since October 2007. The currency slid 0.7% in the first week of December, its biggest decline since the dollar peg was scrapped in July 2005. It has recouped the loss and is now up 0.08% since the end of November. Currency traders have reduced earlier bets on renminbi depreciation. Non-deliverable forwards contracts indicate the Chinese currency will depreciate 2.4% in a year, down from 5.5% at the start of December. The yuan has gained 6.9% on the dollar since the start of this year.