Interfax-China quoted two experts said rapid appreciation of the renminbi after China central bank announced that it would further reform its exchange rate policy will only have a limited impact on the country's oil and gas imports.

Mr Ji Yirong a foreign exchange analyst with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China told Interfax that the appreciation of the RMB will certainly make oil and gas imports cheaper, but that it will not be enough to significantly impact imports. On the other hand, he noted that energy prices will rise if the country uses the appreciation to purchase more energy products.

He said that "The market is assuming that the RMB will float more actively in the coming months and continue to appreciate. He added that there has been some speculation that the exchange rate will drop by 2% to CNY 6.676 per US dollar.

Mr Han Xiaoping a senior analyst with China Energy Net agreed with Mr Ji and told Interfax that such a change in the exchange rate policy will not have a big impact on the country's energy imports unless the RMB appreciates greatly.

Mr Ji also noted that the RMB's rapid appreciation is attributable to investors' worries that the international community will pressure the central government to follow through on its vow to reform the exchange rate policy at the upcoming G-20 summit in Toronto on June 26th.

(Sourced from Interfax-China)