The value of China's currency, the yuan or Renminbi (RMB), hit a new record high against the US dollar on Friday, with the central parity rate at 7.505 yuan to US$1.

It gained 125 basis points from Thursday, according to the Chinese Foreign Exchange Trading System.

It is the 60th time since the beginning of the year that the RMB has set a new record against the dollar. The previous record was on September 13 when the currency stood at 7.5169 yuan to the dollar.

Since its revaluation in 2005 when it stood at 8.11 to the dollar, the yuan has appreciated by more than eight percent.

On Friday, the yuan lost 591 basis points against the euro, 394 points against the British pound and 4.07 points against the Japanese yen while gaining 18.8 points against the Hong Kong dollar from the previous trading day.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)