SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China devalued the yuan on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, guiding the currency to its lowest point in almost three years.
The central bank described the move as a "one-off depreciation" of nearly 2 percent, based on a new way of managing the exchange rate that better reflected market forces.
It presented the change in the context of free-market reform and said it would also lengthen trading times.
China manages the exchange rate through an official midpoint, from which trade can rise or fall 2 percent on any given day.
The People's Bank of China said in a statement it was now basing the midpoint on market makers' quotes and the previous day's closing price. It weakened the midpoint to 6.2298 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with Monday's 6.1162 mid-point.
At the weekend, China reported a surprisingly heavy fall in exports and a continuing slide in producer prices to a near six-year low in July.
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(Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Editing by Mark Bendeich)