1st LD-Writethru: Chinese yuan advances on upbeat economic data

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, advanced to 25-month high on Friday after China released expectation-beating economic figures for 2017.

The yuan strengthened 232 basis points to 6.4169 against the U.S. dollar Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The strong reading came after China released a string of impressive economic data for 2017, including a 6.9-percent GDP growth, which picked up pace for the first time in seven years.

Two-way movement will be normal for the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan in the future given uncertainties in the global economic recovery and the monetary policies of major economies, Wang Chunying, spokesperson with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said Thursday.

China will continue to improve the formation mechanism of the renminbi exchange rate to enhance its flexibility and keep it generally stable within a reasonable range, Wang added.

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. Enditem