BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The central parity rate of the Chinese currency, the renminbi or the yuan, strengthened 190 basis points to 6.2882 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The reading was the highest level since Aug. 11, 2015.

The first month of 2018 saw the yuan's central parity rate gain more than 3 percent against the U.S. dollar, over half of the 5.81 percent gained for all of 2017.

The dollar index, a gauge that measures the U.S. currency's strength against six other major currencies, posted a 3.44-percent decline in January.

The yuan's robust performance was the result of a weaker dollar, sound economic fundamentals, improved regulation on capital flows and increased global use of the currency, said analysts.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 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 offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.