(Yicai Global) Jan. 2 -- The yuan continued to maintain strong momentum, and both it and its offshore counterpart advanced above 6.50 at the beginning of the new year.

The yuan today again broke above 6.50 against the dollar -- recording 6.4943 -- while offshore yuan also rose above 6.50, logging 6.4999, with both achieving an over three-month peak.

The central parity rate of CNY against USD was set at 6.5079 this morning, a rise of 263 basis points over the previous transaction day and a record high since Sept. 11.

The dollar index persisted with its softness in weekend markets, down to 92.067. US President Donald Trump's signing of a tax reform bill at the end of the year buoyed the buck in the market for a spell that now seems to be spent.

The recovery of the world's major economies will accelerate in 2018, analysts predict, but the US economy will no longer perform quite so prominently in the world economy.