China's foreign reserves see record fall in push to aid yuan

Beijing

CHINA'S foreign exchange reserves slid more than forecast in December, capping their first-ever annual decline, as authorities sought to prop up a weakening yuan.

The currency hoard shrank by a record US$108 billion to US$3.33 trillion in December, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Thursday.

The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a drop to US$3.42 trillion. The reserves fell by more than half a trillion dollars in 2015.

Policy makers fighting to stem declines in the currency amid slower growth and plunging stocks have been burning through the stockpile to reduce yuan volatility. The yuan sank to a five-year low on Thursday as the PBOC set its reference rate at an unexpectedly weak level, a signal that it's more to…