CHINA will pursue the diversification of its foreign exchange reserves in a steady, prudent way, the country’s foreign exchange regulator said late Sunday as it for the first time released some broad data on its reserve holdings.

China, which has for some years been diversifying its foreign currency investments, gave no details on the exact composition of its forex reserves and the data it released were some years old.

Of China’s forex reserves in 2014, 58 percent were held in U.S. dollar-denominated assets, down from 79 percent in 1995, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a report published on its website.

It did not disclose information for years after 2014.

The average annual return rate of China’s foreign exchange reserves was 3.68 percent between 2005 and 2014, the regulator said, adding that China will strengthen its medium and long-term foreign exchange asset allocation, without elaborating.

China’s more diversified foreign exchange reserves will help lower currency risks and reflect changes in China’s economic and trade developments and external payments, Wang Chunying, spokeswoman for the SAFE, said in a separate statement.

Responding to a question on why China is increasing its gold reserves, Wang said China is making adjustments in its holdings in a dynamic way, based on long-term and strategic considerations.

The value of China’s gold reserves jumped to US$87.27 billion in June from US$79.83 billion at the end of May.

While the yuan currency has fluctuated this year along with twists and turns in the trade tensions, China’s foreign exchange reserves rose to the highest in more than a year in June.

China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, rose by US$18.23 billion in June to US$3.119 trillion, data from the People’s Bank of China showed.

China will also relax currency exchange approval rules for the commodities futures market, the regulator said.

China expects cross-border capital flows to remain basically stable in the second half of the year, in spite of uncertainties in the global economy and trade protectionism, the SAFE said earlier this month.

China is expected to post a surplus in its current account in the second quarter of this year and a small surplus for all of 2019, the regulator said.

(SD-Agencies)