China's foreign reserves rise to 4-year high on strong yuan

China's foreign exchange reserves rose more than expected in November as a fast economic recovery helped boost the yuan and foreign trade.

China's foreign exchange reserves grew to $3.1785 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of November as the country's forex market continued to run steadily, official data showed Monday.

This was the highest it had reached since August 2016,and represented a hike of $50.5 billion or 1.61 percent from the end of October, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

A Reuters poll earlier expected China's foreign currency reserves to rise to $3.150 trillion from $3.128 trillion in October.

The COVID-19 pandemic, progress in vaccine development, and expectations on the monetary and financial policies of major economies contributed to a lower U.S. dollar index and stronger non-U.S. dollar currencies, said SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying.

Wang attributed the monthly rise in forex reserves to the combined effects of currency translation and changes in asset prices.

She added that she expected the country's forex market to remain basically stable and flexible with bi-directional volatility, despite rising risks in the international financial market amid a raging pandemic and uncertain global economic outlook.

China's

exports

in November rose by 21.1 percent, the fastest pace since February 2018, supported by the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With input from Xinhua)