(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 -- The central parity rate of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar has continued to fall for a seventh consecutive days hitting a 19-month low.

The central parity rate was set at 6.9072 today, down by 53 points, marking its lowest level since March 15 last year.

The US Dollar Index, a measure of the value of the US dollar relative to that of the currencies of the country's six key trading partners, dropped 0.1 percent to close at 95.66 in New York yesterday. It once rose above 96 before falling.

The exchange rate of the yuan against the greenback will range between 6.8 and 7.0 in the fourth quarter, an anonymous analyst at DBS Bank said, adding that the question is not about the exchange rate falling below seven or staying at seven, it is about how to improve the yuan's mechanism.

The exchange rate will continue to face depreciation pressure in the short term since the China-US interest rate spread may narrow and the 7.0-mark has always represented an important and sensitive threshold, Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International said. The exchange rate is expected to gradually return to a stable situation operation in the long-term in line with the stabilization of China's economic fundamentals, he added.

Editors: William Clegg