The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, rose to a new high against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

It strengthened by 72 basis points to stand at 6.2937 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

It is the first time that the yuan broke the 6.3 mark since China's central bank announced on June 19, 2010 that it would further the reform of the formation mechanism of the yuan exchange rate to improve its flexibility. The yuan appreciated by 7.82 percent during the period.

The previous record was set on Jan. 4 when the yuan stood at 6.3001 against the dollar.

In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

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