China forex reserves rise but miss forecasts

Reuters and staff reporter

China’s foreign exchange reserves rose less than expected in March, official data showed yesterday, while the US dollar weakened against other major currencies.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, increased by US$13.4 billion (HK$104.52 billion) last month to US$3.241 trillion, missing a Reuters forecast of US$3.252 trillion but still up from US$3.227 trillion in February.

The yuan slid 0.31 percent against the US dollar in March, while the greenback slumped 3.13 percent against a basket of other major currencies.

The country’s central bank also added gold to its reserves for the fifth straight month, which stood at 73.7 million fine troy ounces at the end of March, up from 73.61 million ounces at the end of February.

Its gold reserves were valued at US$229.6 billion at the end of last month, up from US$208.64 billion at the end of February.

Gold, traditionally seen as a refuge from political and economic uncertainty, has hit record highs so far this year on the back of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, potential for interest rate cuts, geopolitical conflicts, and central bank buying.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s foreign currency reserves fell by US$3.3 billion in March to US$413.1 billion, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed.

The total foreign currency reserve assets represent more than five times the currency in circulation or about 37 percent of Hong Kong dollar M3, the HKMA said in a statement.