Slower growth in forex reserves to be 'new normal'  

中国外储余额下降千亿美元 增长放缓将成新常态

昨日，国家外汇管理局发布数据显示，今年三季度，中国外汇储备余额3.89万亿美元，这个数字比今年二季度末下降了1000亿美元，超出市场预期。在昨日上午举办的前三季度外汇收支数据发布会上，国家外汇管理局国际收支司司长管涛表示，外汇储备增长放缓将成为新常态。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- China's foreign currency regulator on Thursday explained the recent decline in forex reserves, saying slower growth would become the new normal.

The country's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, fell by about $100 billion in the third quarter to $3.89 trillion at the end of September, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the government's foreign exchange regulator.

Guan Tao, head of the department of international payments at SAFE, said the decline was mainly caused by a recent rise in the US dollar against other major currencies.

In fact, China's foreign exchange reserves have been falling this year at a moderate rate, he added, and slower growth would be the "new normal" for the country's forex reserves.

"We don't follow the more-the-better principle," said Guan, who stressed that the decline is in line with the country's macro-control targets.

It shows that China is approaching the international balance of payments, he added.