(Yicai Global) March 8 -- China's foreign exchange reserves fell from a 10-month high in February as the US dollar strengthened and global financial asset prices dropped.

China's forex reserves stood at USD3.1332 trillion at the end of last month, down USD51.3 billion from January’s USD3.184 trillion, which was the highest since March 2022, according to figures the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released yesterday.

The US Dollar Index jumped 3 percent last month after declining for four months in a row. Government bonds fell globally, with the US notes dropping 2.4 percent and euro-zone bonds down 2.3 percent, giving up most of January’s gains.

China’s external environment is more uncertain, global economic momentum is weak, and international financial markets are in flux, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank. But the Chinese economy is recovering stably with no changes in fundamentals for positive long-term prospects, which will help the country's forex reserves to remain stable, Wen added.

China's gold reserves rose for the fourth straight month in February, climbing by 800,000 ounces to 69.52 million oz, the SAFE’s data showed. But their value fell to USD120.28 billion from USD125.28 billion the month before.

China's export growth slowed over the past two months but remained better than expected thanks to overseas demand, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs yesterday. The new orders index stood at 52.4 percent for February, snapping a 21-month contraction, the National Bureau of Statistics said on March 1. A level above 50 indicates expansion.

China has set itself an economic growth target of 5 percent this year, according to the government work report released on March 5. The International Monetary Fund predicts US growth of 1.4 percent and expects the GDP growth gap between the two countries to widen.

Major economies will ease up on tight monetary policies this year, and the spillover effect will be marginally weakened, helping China to keep its forex reserve stable.

Editor: Martin Kadiev