China's central bank on Wednesday devalued the yuan for the second time in two days, to aid a slowing economy, dpa reported. The People's Bank of China unexpectedly adjusted its daily reference exchange rate by a further 1.6 per cent, setting it at 6.3306 to the US dollar. On Tuesday, the bank cut the rate by 1.9 per cent, triggering the biggest one-day slide in yuan value against the dollar since China unified official and market exchange rates in 1994. Asian stocks opened lower on Wednesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.19 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 index down 1.2 per cent and South Korea's Kospi index down 1.2 per cent. Addressing market concerns Wednesday, China's central bank said there was no basis for a sustained depreciation of the yuan given international and domestic economic conditions. The International Monetary Fund said Beijing's move to devalue the yuan was "a welcome step," to allow market forces to have a greater role in determining the exchange rate. The European Commission also said the move was a "positive development." -- SPA 10:20 LOCAL TIME 07:20 GMT تغريد
