BEIJING, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- China's foreign exchange reserves have declined for the first time in five years, a State Administration of Foreign Exchange official said.
The country's foreign exchange reserves peaked at the end of September at $1.9 trillion, China Daily reported Wednesday.
The disclosure was made at a meeting of China's import and export enterprises held over the weekend.
Cai Qiusheng, head of the foreign debts section under the capital-account management department, did not say in which month, October or November, the forex reserves fell below the $1.9-trillion level, nor did he disclose the current size of the forex reserves.
The reduction in foreign currency is not likely to harm the Chinese economy, said Yuan Yuedong, a senior researcher with the global financial market department of Bank of China.
He attributed the downtrend in forex reserves to slower appreciation of the yuan and short-term depreciation against the U.S. dollar and possible increased offshore investment by Chinese companies.
