Yuan hits 5-month peak vs US dollar

China's yuan strengthened to a five-month high against the US dollar on Friday, the largest weekly gain in 14 years thanks to a weakening greenback and positive signals from Sino-US trade talks that concluded on Wednesday.

Within the week, the onshore-traded yuan appreciated more than 1.7 percent against the dollar, the best weekly performance since China shifted to a managed floating exchange rate regime in 2005.

The yuan's onshore spot exchange rate hit 6.7425 per dollar, a gain of nearly 0.6 percent, during Friday's trading. It was the strongest level since late July. The daily trading reference, or central parity rate, was 6.7909 per dollar, around which a 2 percent floating range was allowed, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.