The public panic over the yuan's recent depreciation should be quelled, as two-way fluctuations of the Chinese currency are within the expectations of government authorities and are quite "normal" within a market-oriented mechanism, experts said on Friday.



The comment comes after the yuan's central parity rate weakened 122 basis points to 6.7858 against the dollar on Friday, recording a new six-year low, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.



The People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, has been lowering the yuan's reference rate for four consecutive weeks since the National Day holiday, marking the longest period of adjustment since March 2015.



With the yuan's exchange rate at record lows, there has been growing concern among the Chinese general public. Articles highlighting the issue have been viewed and shared thousands of times on social media platforms, according to media reports.



Some Chinese residents have begun ramping up purchases of US dollars, domestic news portal sohu.com said.



But experts noted that such a move is unnecessary, as the downward pressure that has lead to the depreciation will not remain for long, and the yuan will maintain overall stability.



"The short-term volatility is mainly due to the expectation of an upcoming interest hike by the US central bank, which bolstered the dollar, as well as the pounds' shrinking value in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum," Tan Xiaofen, vice director of the International Finance Research Center at the Beijing-based Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times.



The recent depreciation of the yuan can also be regarded as an automatic correction in the exchange rate market, following China's exchange rate reform in August 2015, and the inclusion of the yuan into the IMF's Special Drawing Rights currency basket, which took effect on October 1, experts noted.



These moves "are anchored to market demand," and will offer more flexibility in the yuan's fluctuation against the dollar, Tan said, noting that it also means two-way fluctuation of the Chinese currency "will be the norm" in the future.



The chances of a sharp depreciation are slim, thanks to various government policy instruments, Bai Ming, a researcher with a think tank under the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times.



For example, PBC offered three reverse purchase agreements (repos) totaling 210 billion yuan ($30.98 billion) on Thursday, partly aimed at alleviating the yuan's devaluation pressure and curbing potential capital outflow, experts noted.



The country also has ample foreign exchange reserves of around $3.1666 trillion as of September, which authorities could leverage to mitigate the effect of the yuan's depreciation, according to Tan.



"Ultimately, the exchange rate of the Chinese currency is determined by the Chinese economy," which has posted sound growth despite lackluster global economic performance, Bai said.



In line with the government's full-year target, China's GDP expanded at an annual rate of 6.7 percent in the third quarter this year.