China’s March foreign exchange reserves maintain an upward momentum, following its triumphant rebound above the US$3 trillion mark in February.
A steadying yuan helped staunch capital outflows and fluctuations in the currency market lifted the value of the stockpile.
The reserves, which are the largest in the world, rose by US$3.96 billion in March to US$3.0091 trillion, a modest gain from US$3.0051 trillion at the end of February, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China on Friday. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected a US$5.9 billion growth in March.
The yuan remained steady against the US dollar in March, when the yuan rose 0.29%.
The foreign exchange market was now relatively stable, with cross-border capital movement balanced, Pan Gongsheng, the head of the country’s foreign exchange regulator said on Wednesday in an article run by Xinhua new agency.
The pressure on capital outflows has eased somewhat, as the deficit in the capital account looks like it may further narrow in the year ahead, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Also, the US dollar index had fallen 0.76% last month, helping some non-dollar-denominated assets in the portfolio gain in value.