BEIJING -- The Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, Wednesday gained two basis points from the previous trading day to hit a record new high of 6.4948 per US dollar.

This marks a third consecutive day that the yuan has risen to new high.

On China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the renminbi against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market each business day.