China August forex reserves fall to US$3.19 trillion, lowest since 2011

[BEIJING] China's foreign exchange reserves fell to US$3.19 trillion in August, central bank data showed on Wednesday, in line with market expectations and the lowest level since December 2011.

Reserves fell by US$15.89 billion in August, the biggest drop since May.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted reserves would fall to US$3.19 trillion from US$3.20 trillion at the end of July.

China's reserves, the largest in the world, fell by a record US$513 billion last year after Beijing devalued the yuan currency, sparking a flood of capital outflows that threatened to destabilise the world's second-largest economy and alarmed global markets.

China's gold reserves fell to US$77.18 billion at the end of August, down from US$78.89 billion at end-July, data published on the People's Bank of China website showed.

REUTERS