Outstanding forex funds continue fall

Source: Xinhua | 2018-12-18

China’s yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange continued to decline in November, the central bank’s latest data shows.

The funds stood at 21.26 trillion yuan (US$3.09 trillion) at the end of last month, down from 21.32 trillion yuan in October, according to the People’s Bank of China yesterday.

As the yuan is not freely convertible under the capital account, the central bank has to purchase foreign currency generated by a trade surplus and foreign investment in the country, adding funds to the money market.

Such funds are an important indicator of cross-border foreign capital flows and domestic yuan liquidity.

A similar measure of capital flows, the foreign exchange reserves edged up to US$3.0617 trillion in November after dropping for three consecutive months.

“China’s international balance of payments largely remained stable in November,” said Wang Chunying, spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.