Yuan hits new record high at 6.1050 against USD Friday

The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, rose to a new record high against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

The yuan strengthened 106 basis points to reach 6.1050 per U.S. dollar, the strongest since July 2005, when the country launched reforms of the exchange rate mechanism, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

On Thursday, the People's Bank of China (central bank) set the dollar-yuan central parity rate at 6.1156.

Before Friday, the yuan's highest exchange rate against the U.S. dollar was set on Dec. 11, when the yuan stood at 6.11 against per U.S. dollar.

The yuan strengthens to new high against the U.S. dollar, though the dollar climbed against most major currencies overnight in New York.

The U.S. dollar's strong performance came after the Labor Department said Thursday that the number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits dropped 42,000 to 338,000 in the week ending Dec. 21.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield pierced through 3 percent for the first time since September as the economic environment turned safer, which limited dollar's gains.

In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 1 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 before the opening of the market each business day.