BEIJING (RT) - Chinese gold and foreign currency reserves, the world’s largest, rose more than expected last month, according to official data published on Monday.
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $23.62 billion to $3.22 trillion in May against $3.208 trillion seen in a Reuters poll of analysts and $3.198 trillion recorded in April.
The growth is partially attributed to the weakened U.S. dollar. The Chinese national currency, the yuan, rose 1.6% against the greenback in May, while the dollar dropped 1.6% during last month versus a basket of other major currencies.
China’s gold holdings stood at 62.64 million fine troy ounces at the end of May, unchanged from the previous month. The value of the gold reserves surged to $119.02 billion at the end of May from $110.73 billion in late April.
The world’s largest forex reserves continued to rise as China has been gradually recovering from the pandemic-related crisis. Last month, the country’s imports grew at their fastest pace in 10 years, fueled by surging demand for raw materials. However, export growth slowed more than expected, weighed by disruptions caused by Covid-19 cases at the country’s major southern ports.