Beijing - XINHUA
China's central bank has set the central parity rate of the yuan at its lowest point since early February.
The central parity rate of yuan against U.S. dollar weakened 315 basis points to 6.5531 on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.
The U.S. dollar rallied against most major currencies as Federal Reserve minutes showed the U.S. central bank may raise interest rates earlier than expected.
According to the minutes of the Fed's April meeting released on Wednesday, officials are open to an interest rate raise as early as June, if the economy continues to improve.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.