According to the report from the People's Bank of China (PBoC), China's foreign exchange reserves (the world's largest) declined sharply last month, and reached the lowest level since November 2023, which was caused by the strengthening of the US currency.
The PBoC said foreign exchange reserves declined to $3.201 trillion from $3.246 trillion in March. Economists had expected a decline to $3.23 trillion. A combination of factors, such as the exchange rate and asset-price changes, contributed to the decline.
The US dollar index rose by 1.75% in April, while the yuan fell by 0.27% against the US currency.
The data also showed that China held 72.80 million fine troy ounces of gold (+0.06 million ounces compared to March). Meanwhile, the value of gold reserves increased by $6.89 billion to $167.96 billion.