THE yuan yesterday hit the strongest against the US dollar in 19 years after the greenback weakened on concerns the US may extend an easier monetary stance over its worsening economic outlook.

The Chinese currency gained 0.15 percent from last Friday to close at 6.1560 per dollar in Shanghai as markets reopened after the May Day holiday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The yuan hit 6.1537 per US dollar earlier yesterday, the strongest since the government unified market and official exchange rates at the end of 1993. It is the 10th record the yuan has set against the dollar since April 1.

The People's Bank of China yesterday raised the yuan's central parity rate by 0.2 percent to 6.2082 per dollar, the largest daily jump since October. The yuan can trade 1 percent on either side of the official fixing rate.

Morgan Stanley this week raised its year-end forecast for the yuan to 6.1 from 6.3, citing prospects for a widening in the trading band and a rise in market participants.

Mitul Kotecha, a Hong Kong-based senior researcher at Credit Agricole, yesterday said the greenback is under pressure because the US may extend its monetary easing stance as the US economic recovery is seen to worsen in the second quarter.