Beijing set the reference rate for the yuan at a record high yesterday, one week ahead of an economic summit between the nation’s top policymakers and their United States counterparts.

The People’s Bank of China put the central parity rate at 6.2829 per US dollar yesterday, 0.15 per cent higher than Wednesday’s 6.2923 per dollar, and the third straight increase.

On the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the yuan rose as much as 0.09 per cent in intraday trading before slipping 0.03 per cent from a day earlier to end at 6.3060.

The central bank sets the reference rate each day and the value of the yuan can rise or fall as much as 1 per cent during the intraday day trading. The daily fixing, known as central parity rate, normally reflects Beijing’s attitude towards the value of the currency after China lifted a peg to the US dollar in…