Data from the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, shows that the nation’s foreign reserves reached an impressive US$3.0915 trillion for the month of August — the seventh straight month of increases — but the bank emphasized the reserves must be safeguarded against risk, Yicai.com reported on Thursday.
The increase in foreign reserves also comes as the yuan broke the 6.50 mark against the US dollar, marking its highest level since June of last year, the report added. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said recently that the agency is dedicated to guarding against risk from the foreign reserves, and also to “reasonably guide” foreign investment to prevent both the yuan and foreign reserves “surging upwards” without control.
The increase in asset prices in international capital markets has pushed up the level of foreign reserves, said a spokesperson from SAFE, the Yicai.com report said. Expectations for the yuan have also changed after it broke the 6.7 mark, according to the spokesperson, which is leading the rise of the currency.
In a recent statement by the head of SAFE, the agency said that the policy on overseas investment “remains stable,” despite the increase in the yuan and the foreign reserves — perhaps a nod to the curb on cross-border capital outflow controls imposed by the government in recent months, the report said.