BEIJING - The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 594 basis points to 6.9262 against the US dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

It was the biggest daily percentage fall since June 2016.

The yuan has seen sharp falls since October last year, stoking market concerns. But economists ruled out the possibility of persistent slips in 2017, and believe China is capable of handling the impact, even if bigger-than-expected exchange rate changes occur.

The central parity rate of the yuan strengthened 639 basis points to 6.8668 against the US dollar Friday.

The two-way fluctuations of the yuan's central parity rate showed the central bank's intention to reverse the unilateral devaluation of the currency, said Ming Ming, an analyst with CITIC Securities.

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