(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- The continuing frailty of the US dollar Index lifted the yuan-dollar exchange rate to a two-year high today.

The onshore yuan-dollar spot exchange rate rose continuously today to 6.4186 at 12:41 a.m. after opening at 6.4566, successively breaking through the thresholds of 6.45, 6.44, 6.43 and 6.42. It not only smashed past the previous high of 6.4345 in September, but also attained a pinnacle unseen since Dec. 10, 2015. The spot yuan-dollar exchange rate also similarly bobbed on the offshore market to a high tide line of 6.4242 at 12:45.

The yuan-dollar central parity rate the People's Bank of China issued today was 6.4574, a rise of 358 basis points from Friday, up for the third day in a row to top a new crest since May 3, 2016. The rate has increased 1.18 percent in all this year.

The yuan has strengthened significantly against the dollar since late December as countercyclical factors temporarily ebbed, though a perception formed in the market that this move was to prevent the yuan from appreciating too fast.