The yuan eased against the US dollar in the first trading day after China doubled the currency's daily trading band to 2 percent - a move intended to increase volatility and break one-way appreciation.

The yuan closed at 6.1781 to the dollar on Monday, down 285 basis points from Friday.

The currency weakened even though the People's Bank of China set the daily reference rate 25 bps higher at 6.1321.