China's central bank on Tuesday announced a sharply lower daily reference rate for the yuan against the US dollar, saying it was part of moves to make its exchange rate regime more market-oriented.

The People's Bank of China set its so-called "central parity" for the yuan at 6.2298 to $1, compared with 6.1162 yuan the previous day, effectively 1.86 percent lower. Bloomberg News described the reduction as a record.