MNI: China FX Reserves Fall In February On Value Effect: PBOC

--China January FX Reserves Fall $21.51 Billion To $3.16 Billion

     BEIJING (MNI) - The appreciation of the dollar dragged down the value of

China's foreign-exchange reserves in February, which was the first month that

the reserves have decreased since January 2017, according to China's central

bank. 

     FX reserves fell by $26.98 billion to $3.13 trillion as of Feb 28,

according to data released Wednesday by the People's Bank of China (PBOC),

compared with the gain of $21.51 billion in January. 

     "Cross-border capital flows and transactions were generally stable in

January," the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), a division of

PBOC, said on its website Wednesday. Non-dollar currencies depreciated against

the dollar while asset prices retreated, contributing to a "mild fall" in the

value of China's FX reserve in U.S. dollar terms, it said.

     The U.S. dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback against a basket of

currencies, rose to 90.38 on Feb. 27, up from 89.12 on Jan. 31.

     SAFE said the FX reserves should remain "generally stable" and cross-border

capital flows will remain "generally balanced" as China's economy develops

steadily, the global economy continues to revive, main central banks will

gradually tighten their monetary policies and the uncertainties of global

financial market picks up. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 85325998; email: he.wei@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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