China's forex reserves climbs to USD 3.1 trillion

BEIJING: China's forex reserves, the highest in the world, rose for the eighth month in a row to over USD 3.1 trillion in September as pressure from capital outflow eased, according to official data released today.

In January, the forex reserves plunged below USD 3 trillion, but as the economy stands on a firmer footing and the yuan continues to stabilise, the stockpile has increased steadily since February.

It was the first time that the reserves climbed for the eighth months in a row since June 2014, bringing the total to its highest level since October 2016, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The world's largest currency hoard totalled USD 3.1085 trillion by the end of September, increasing by USD 16.98 billion from a month earlier, data from the People's Bank of China said.

Last month's increase followed a gain of USD 10.81 billion in August, the report said.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said that economic growth has remained stable and sound since the beginning of the year and the yuan has appreciated steadily, while cross-border capital flows stayed stable, which contributed to the forex reserves' gradual rebound.

The country's economy grew 6.9 per cent for the first half of the year, with consumption, services and new innovation-driven economic sectors taking up larger roles in the economy, prompting global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) to raise GDP forecasts for the country.

The GDP growth rate for the third quarter is due to be released on October 19.

Today's data also showed that China's gold reserves fell to USD 76.01 billion by the end of September from USD 77.7 billion a month ago.