(ECNS) -- China's foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.134 trillion in February, a decrease of $27 billion or 0.85 percent, compared with the previous month, according to data from the People's Bank of China.
Before that, China's foreign exchange reserves had risen for 12 consecutive months, after dropping to $3 trillion in January, the central bank said.
China's cross-border capital flows and domestic and foreign transactions were generally stable in February. The supply and demand of the foreign exchange market stayed in balance, said a spokesman for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
The decrease was mainly caused by weaker non-dollar currencies and retreating global asset prices. Cross-border capital flows were generally balanced, the SAFE spokesman said.
Some experts believe that China's foreign exchange reserves will remain stable this year. Wen Bin, chief researcher with Minsheng Bank, said the outbound tourists during the Spring Festival holiday and the increasing purchase of foreign currencies may also contribute to the falling of foreign exchange reserves.
