China’s March forex reserves gain to US$3.14t

CHINA’S foreign exchange reserves edged up 0.27 percent from a month earlier to US$3.14 trillion at the end of March, the People’s Bank of China said yesterday.

The increase reversed a slight drop in February. Previously, the forex reserves gained for 12 straight months between February 2017 and January.

“The foreign exchange market continued to see generally balanced supply and demand,” the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.

SAFE mainly attributed the slight gain to the global financial market’s efforts to avert risk, the appreciation of some major currencies against the US dollar, as well as asset price changes.

“The yuan’s exchange rate against the dollar has continued two-way fluctuations and remained basically stable, and the foundation for generally balanced cross-border capital flow has become stronger,” SAFE said, citing sound growth, better economic structure and higher growth quality in China.

Looking into the future, SAFE sees the forex reserves holding steady, after taking into account both domestic and external factors, including volatility and uncertainties in the global financial market.

According to PBOC data, China’s gold reserves remained unchanged in March at 59.24 million ounces, worth US$78.42 billion, an increase from US$78.06 billion in February.