China's forex reserves keep growing

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange reserves rose for the 12th straight month to reach 3.1615 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of January, official data showed Wednesday.

The amount was slightly below the market forecast of 3.17 trillion dollars, and 21.5 billion dollars up from the end of December, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

A statement from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) attributed the increase to stronger non-dollar currencies and higher asset prices.

Cross-border capital flows and transactions remained stable in January, it said.

China's forex stockpile has increased steadily since February 2017 after dipping below 3 trillion dollars in January, as the economy got on a firmer footing and the yuan continued to stabilize.

The reserves will continue to maintain overall stability in future, SAFE said, citing positive economic fundamentals and a recovering global economy.

It predicted more balanced forex supply and demand, noting that the yuan's exchange rate would see more "two-way movement."

"As cross-border capital flows became more balanced, the administration returned to a neutral macro-prudential policy," Pan Gongsheng, head of SAFE, wrote in an article published Wednesday.

"The administration will continue to support legal cross-border fund outflows and inflows while cracking down on illegal flows," Pan noted.

He said the SAFE would adopt a rational perspective on changes in forex reserves and target a "dynamic equilibrium" in international payments.

The PBOC data also showed the country's gold reserves remained unchanged at 59.24 million ounces, and valued at 79.68 billion U.S. dollars.