1st LD-Writethru: Chinese yuan strengthens to 27-month high against USD Thursday

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi (the yuan) advanced for the fifth consecutive trading day to a 27-month high against the U.S. dollar Thursday.

The central parity rate of the yuan strengthened 192 basis points to 6.3724 against the U.S. dollar, the strongest level since Nov. 13, 2015, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The rise came after the yuan advanced 93 basis points to reach 6.3916 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, when the yuan surged beyond 6.4 against the U.S. dollar for the first time since December 2015.

The dollar index touched a new three-year low Thursday, sliding to 89.29 against a basket of major currencies.

The tumble was accelerated after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made remarks Wednesday that a weaker dollar was welcomed by the country.

Mnuchin said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the declining dollar was good for U.S. exporters, suggesting he is not worried about the currency's recent drop.

"The market awaits uncertainties in U.S. policies and the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, largely contributing to adjustments of the yuan against the U.S. dollar," said Xiong Yuan, researcher with Renmin University of China.

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