With China pledging to maintain a stable and reasonable exchange rate, the yuan is likely to remain in a close range against the United States dollar this week.

The Chinese currency ended flat against the dollar last week at 6.8272 last Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The People's Bank of China set the mid-point rate at 6.8270 at the end of the previous week.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also reiterated last Thursday during a visit to France that the yuan is currently at a reasonable and fair level.

Lu Zhengwei, an economist at the Industrial Bank said the yuan is not likely to appreciate against the US dollar as the greenback is gradually showing signs of appreciating and China won't let its currency rise by a very big margin.

The jobless rate in the US in January dropped to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in December last year, lower than market predictions, and gave rise to expectations that the US economy is on the mend.