HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - China's central bank weakened the yuan's daily reference rate by the most since January, sending the offshore currency lower.

The People's Bank of China cut the fixing, which restricts onshore moves to 2 per cent on either side, by 0.26 per cent to 6.5079 per US dollar on Tuesday (March 15).

The yuan traded in Hong Kong extended losses, trading down 0.14 per cent at 6.5033 as of 9:25 am local time. This comes after a gauge of dollar strength rose 0.4 per cent overnight, the most since Feb 26.

The Chinese currency has returned to a more "normal, rational and fundamentals-driven" trend, and the nation doesn't need to use the foreign-exchange policy to boost trade, PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan told reporters on Saturday.