WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund chief on Saturday welcomed China's move to widen the trading band of yuan against US dollar.

"I would like to welcome this important step by the People's Bank of China to increase the flexibility of their currency," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.

"This underlines China's commitment to rebalance its economy toward domestic consumption and allow market forces to play a greater role in determining the level of the exchange rate," she added.

The People's Bank of China announced on Saturday (Beijing time) that it will widen the yuan's daily trading limit against the US dollar to 1 percent from 0.5 percent.