China's yuan weakened against the US dollar for a seventh straight trading day Wednesday.

The central parity rate of the yuan was 6.8395 per dollar Wednesday, and 6.8392 yuan per dollar the previous trading day.

The currency is allowed to float on the interbank market within a 0.5-percent band, which is set daily by the People's Bank of China.

The yuan so far has weakened by 58 basis points against the dollar over the past seven trading days.

"It is only normal that the yuan weakens against the US dollar in such a time when currencies such as euros, pounds, and Australian dollars are all weakening against the US dollar," said Zuo Xiaolei, Chief Economist with China Galaxy Securities Company Ltd.

The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's strength against a basket of key currencies, rose 0.98 percent to 89.026 Tuesday, its highest since April 2006, according to a Reuters report.

Zuo said a 58 basis-point rise of the dollar against the yuan was small and was common on the foreign exchanges market.

She also said the dollar's rise amid plunging global stock markets was a reflection of the fundamental strength of the US economy compared to other economies.

Analysts say fears about the sliding world stock markets had prompted investors to buy the dollar at it is regarded as a relatively safe investment in times of turmoil.

On the market Wednesday, the yuan's central parity rate was 853.09 per 100 euros. It was also trading at 6.9514 per 100 yen.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2009)