BEIJING -- The Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, Tuesday gained 38 basis points from the previous trading day to hit a record new high of 6.4950 per US dollar.

The yuan first broke the symbolic 6.50 ratio against the US dollar on April 29, and reached the previous new high at 6.4988 on Monday.

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.