NEW YORK–State-owned Bank of China Ltd has opened trading in the yuan currency to US customers, according to a posting on the bank's website dated December 2010.

The move, seen as a strong endorsement of foreign trading in the yuan, or renminbi, comes ahead of a scheduled visit to Washington by Chinese President Hu Jintao next week.

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The website for the Chinese bank's New York branch said it now lets companies and individuals buy and sell the yuan through accounts with its US branches, although US businesses and individuals can also trade the currency through Western banks.

Buying and selling in the yuan had been largely confined within China until mid-2010. Trading in the Chinese currency, however, swelled in Hong Kong since China opened trading in the yuan last July.

The bank's website, which outlines details of holding renminbi accounts, said the bank offers yuan savings, demand deposit and time deposit accounts to business customers in New York and Los Angeles.

A savings account requires a minimum balance of the equivalent of $5,000, while the minimum in demand deposit accounts is $3,000.