1st LD-Writethru: Chinese yuan weakens to 6.8115 against USD Friday

The Chinese currency weakened sharply against the U.S. dollar Friday as global markets continued to digest the possible implications of the results of the U.S. presidential election.

The central parity rate of the renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 230 basis points to 6.8115 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, breaking the threshold of 6.80 for the first time in about six years, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

Donald Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. The dollar has rallied against several major currencies since Wednesday on the back of a string of positive economic data.

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 dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

The day-to-day foreign exchange market could be volatile, and there was no basis for persistent yuan depreciation, as China continues to witness steady economic growth, progress in economic restructuring and a stable financial market, experts said.

The pound sterling rallied against the yuan by 1,043 basis points to 8.5411 Friday. Endi