China's central bank raised the yuan's official central parity rate to 6.6102 per US dollar on Wednesday, the strongest level since mid-August 2016. Analysts, however, expect that the currency will not continue to rise as strongly in the coming months if the dollar rebounds.

The yuan's midpoint rate, set by the People's Bank of China and seen as a guide for market transactions, was 191 basis points higher than on Tuesday, when it already had risen by 60 basis points over Monday. One percentage point is 100 basis points.

The yuan also rose strongly against the dollar in offshore markets on Wednesday, hitting the highest level in 14 months. The yuan has risen by about 5 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.