China's outstanding yuan funds for forex drops in April

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's outstanding yuan funds for foreign exchange declined from a month earlier at the end of April, data from the country's central bank showed Monday.

The funds came in at about 21.33 trillion yuan (about 3.13 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of last month, down 17.6 billion yuan month on month, according to the People's Bank of China.

As the Chinese yuan is not freely convertible under the capital account, the central bank must purchase foreign currency generated by a trade surplus and foreign investment in the country, adding funds to the money market. Such funds are a vital indicator of cross-border foreign capital flows and domestic yuan liquidity.

China's forex holdings amounted to 3.1197 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of April, down 68.3 billion U.S. dollars, or 2.14 percent, from the end of March, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed. ■