Mainland's December forex fall is the largest ever seen
Baku, January 8, AZERTAC
Mainland China's foreign exchange reserves saw their biggest ever monthly drop in December, falling to a three year low, official figures showed, as the central bank sells U.S. dollars to prop up its currency, according to China Post.
The country's foreign exchange stockpile, the world's biggest, declined to US$3.3 trillion last month, down some US$108 billion from November, according to figures released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
China's total reduction last year was US$513 billion, its first annual decline, with economic growth expected to have slowed to its lowest pace in a quarter of a century.
Official data on fourth-quarter and annual growth is due to be released later in January.
China weakened the value of its yuan currency by 0.51 percent against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, marking the biggest drop since August, when Beijing guided the normally stable unit down by nearly five percent in a week in a surprise devaluation.
Analysts believe yuan will keep depreciating this year despite Beijing's tight grip on currency flows.
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