China's yuan climbed to a 14-month high against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the central bank had implemented firmer thresholds for five consecutive days.
Prior to the opening of markets, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, raised its official yuan midpoint to 6.5909 per dollar, firmer than the key psychologically level of 6.6 per dollar for the first time since June 2016.
Friday's midpoint was 101 pips firmer than the previous peg of 6.6010 on Thursday.
In the spot market, the onshore yuan opened at 6.5888 per dollar and was traded at 6.5801 by midday, 0.13 percent firmer than the previous late session close. The offshore yuan also strengthened in morning trade, changing hands at 6.5814 per dollar.
The yuan's strength also follows the dollar's broad weakness this year. The dollar index fell to 92.651 by midday from the previous close of 92.668.
On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shrugged at the weaker dollar, saying that this can benefit the U.S. economy in terms of trade. In April, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the dollar was "getting too strong" in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
The yuan has gained 2.1 percent against the dollar in August, marking the biggest monthly gain since 1994.
