BEIJING: Increased flexibility in China's yuan exchange rate can release market pressure and prevent expectations it will only move one way, a spokeswoman for the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.

The yuan briefly firmed to its strongest level against the US dollar in nearly six weeks on Thursday as the greenback weakened.

Wang Chunying also told a news conference China is expected to have a current account surplus in the first quarter, though it will be smaller than the fourth quarter last year.