THE country’s foreign exchange reserves rose modestly in September for an eighth straight month, and by slightly more than markets had expected, as tighter regulations and a stronger yuan continued to discourage capital outflows. A dramatic slowdown in capital flight has helped boost confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. Forex reserves rose US$17 billion in September to US$3.109 trillion, compared with an increase of US$10.5 billion in August, central bank data showed Monday. Economists polled previously had expected reserves to rise by US$8 billion. It was the first time that China’s reserves have climbed for eight months in a row since June 2014, and brought its stockpile — the world’s largest — to the highest since October last year. China’s cross-border capital flows remained stable in September and the overall appreciation of foreign exchange reserves’ investments helped boost the value of forex reserves last month, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on its website late Monday. The level of forex reserves will remain “balanced and stable” in the future, the SAFE said, while cross-border capital flows will remain “steady.” The regulatory measures, exchange rate forces and a stronger trade surplus may have brought China’s capital flows roughly into balance for the first time in years, analysts say. The country’s outbound non-financial investment slumped 41.8 percent in the January-August period from a year earlier, as authorities kept a tight grip on outflows for “irrational” overseas projects. The value of gold reserves fell to US$76.005 billion at the end of September, from US$$77.702 billion at end-August, data published on the People’s Bank of China website also showed. (SD-Agencies) |