(VOVworld) – Russia's Central Bank has added the Chinese yuan to the foreign exchange reserve basket, two sources close to the bank told TASS on Friday. But they added the bank does not plan purchasing operations of yuan-nominated assets in the near future.

(Photo: AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

According to both sources, the share of Russian reserves in yuan in the near future will remain small and symbolic.

The Moscow Exchange, where the Central Bank could theoretically buy currencies for reserves, began to trade in yuans in late 2010. Since then, the volume of trading in this currency has significantly increased.

In August, trading volume grew 4 times year-on-year to an absolute maximum and amounted to 18 billion yuan equal to 2.8 billion USD.