(Yicai Global) Feb. 1 -- The Chinese yuan moved significantly lower against the US Dollar today as investors rushed to cash-in before the long Spring Festival holiday starts.

Chinese financial markets will now close for the holiday, reopening on Feb. 11.

The yuan has performed strongly against the dollar in recent times, hitting new six-month highs in each of the past four days. The redback had risen 0.73 percent during that period. 

For January, the yuan rose by a cumulative 2.6 percent against the greenback on the onshore market as of yesterday's close.

However, market sentiment turned today with the onshore spot rate quickly hitting through 6.73 overhead threshhold, as investors shed the currency. The offshore rate also went as high as 6.7526 intraday.

At 4:30pm, The onshore spot rate closed at 6.7391, 336 point higher than yesterday's close. The offshore spot rate was 6.7491, a 396 bip increase from yesterday's close in New York.

The People's Bank of China fixed the yuan central parity rate against US Dollar at 6.7081 this morning, slightly lower than yesterday's 6.7025, which was the strongest level since 18 July.