The yuan hit a new high last week amid speculation that a more valuable currency will help cool the red-hot economy together with a weak US dollar.

The yuan ended at 7.9705 against the US dollar on Friday, compared with a close of 7.9820 a session earlier, extending its gains to 0.1 percent last week. Last week's closing also refreshed the post-revaluation high.

The yuan repeatedly tested new ground last week.

Economists at Chinese state-backed institutions are urging the use of yuan appreciation to help cool the economy, which grew in the second quarter by 11.3 percent from a year earlier - the fastest growth in a decade.

Traders also attribute the yuan's gains to the recent weak performance of the US dollar on the international market. The expectation that the US may stop raising interest rates has led to dollar's drop.

China's central bank made the central parity rate on the weighted average of quotes from commercial lenders from home and abroad. 

Editor: Yan