China's central bank set the yuan/US dollar midpoint at 6.4589 on Friday. The fix was up 365 points from the previous fix, rising 0.56 percent.

The fix was also the strongest increase in about ten years. The move reflects the dollar's overnight weakness as the American economy grew just 0.5 percent in the first quarter.

The midpoint adjustment was in line with the central bank's recent reforms to allow the yuan to increase in a two-way range. The reforms aim at building a more market-oriented exchange rate regime.