China's foreign exchange reserves hovering at over $3.2 trillion for 16 consecutive months

As of the end of March, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at $3.24 trillion, reflecting an increase of 0.42 percent from a month earlier, latest data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) revealed. 

This marks the 16th consecutive month that China's foreign exchange reserves have remained largely stable above $3.2 trillion.

In March, factoring in macroeconomic variants, fiscal and monetary policies, and expectations of major economies in the world, the US Dollar Index fell and global financial asset prices edged down. The combined effect of exchange rate translation and changes in asset prices and other factors led to a rise in the size of China's foreign exchange reserves during the month, the SAFE noted.

China's economic operation remains generally stable with steady progress, and a mix of existing and new reinforcing policies continues to yield positive results, which has provided support for the basic stability of the size of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, the SAFE said.

According to data released on Monday by the People's Bank of China, the central bank, the country's gold reserves climbed to 73.7 million ounces at the end of March, up from 73.61 million ounces in February. This marks the fifth straight month of rising gold purchases by China’s central bank.