SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's yuan firmed sharply for the third straight day on Thursday, breaking through its 200-day moving average and recouping all of its losses for the year as corporate flight out of long-US dollar positions intensified.

The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.146 per US dollar prior to market open, firmer than the previous fix of 6.1556.

The spot market opened at 6.2140 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.1961 at midday, -333 pips away from the previous close and 0.82 per cent away from the midpoint. The spot rate is currently allowed to trade with a range 2 per cent above or below the official fixing on any given day.