The speed of the yuan's slide has caught many off-guard. JP Morgan recently downgraded its year-end yuan forecast, from 6.85 per dollar to 7.25 per dollar.

The deal, for 100,000 tonnes of crude from Moscow, was completed in the Chinese currency and not the US dollar which dominates international oil trade

"De-dollarisation is evident in FX reserves where [the dollar's] share has declined to a record as share in exports declined but is still emerging in commodities," the US bank noted

BRICS foreign ministers have asserted their bloc's ambition to rival Western powers and build up their influence in a multi-polar world

Weak economic data, widening yield differentials with the US, and capital outflows through foreign selling of stocks and bonds have dragged currency down to six-month lows to the dollar

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to a five-month low of 48.8, the Statistics Bureau said on Wednesday, while service sector activity was the slowest in four months

Asia stocks sink to two-month low, with Hong Kong down 2%, Sydney, Shanghai and the BSE Sensex all lower on Thursday. The Nikkei was the key outlier once again, rising nearly 0.4%.

Ties between Russia and China have reached an "unprecedented high", Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during his trip to Beijing on Wednesday

In contrast to the rupee, other Asian currencies were mostly higher after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell struck a moderately dovish stance

Indians have been asked to deposit or exchange their 2000-rupee notes by Sept 30, 2023; the move comes ahead of state and general elections in the country when cash usage spikes

The country’s central bank says it is closely watching the yuan after it broke through the 7-per-dollar level on a stumbling economic recovery and a dollar rally

The Chinese currency was flailing after poor data showed its economy’s recovery is running out of steam, dragging other currencies down with it