Britain says welcomes Chinese yuan into IMF currency basket

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's finance ministry said on Monday it welcomed the admission of China's yuan into the International Monetary Fund's benchmark currency basket.

"This move appropriately reflects the growing use of the renminbi in the global trade and financial system," a Treasury spokeswoman said, adding it underlined why Britain should continue to deepen its ties with China.

China's currency (CNH=)(CNY=) will have a weighting of 10.9 percent in the IMF's basket. Sterling's (GBP=) weighting will be cut to 8.1 percent from 11.3 percent.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Richard Balmforth)