BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese currency, or the yuan, on Tuesday weakened 36 basis points to 6.5687 per U.S. dollar from the previous trading day, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

The central parity rate of the yuan, or RMB, hit a record high of 6.5651 against the U.S.dollar on Monday.

China's central bank announced on June 19 last year that it would reform the yuan exchange rate formation mechanism to improve its flexibility.

On China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the RMB against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market each business day.

source:Xinhua