(Yicai Global) April 7 -- China's foreign exchange reserves dropped to USD3.06 trillion in March, the lowest level since October 2018, due to the turmoil caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic on the world's major economies, the central bank said today.

The world's largest pool of foreign currencies held by a central bank fell by USD46.09 billion last month, according to the People's Bank of China.

The Chinese yuan's exchange rate with the US dollar is stable and cross-border capital flows remain balanced, said Wang Chunying, a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

As the domestic economy recovers from the epidemic, China's long-term growth trends are unchanged and will support the stability of its foreign exchange holdings, she added.

China's gold reserves were unchanged at 1,775 tons at the end of March, the same as the previous month, the bank said. But their value dropped by USD57 million to USD100.79 billion due to a decline in bullion prices.

Editor: Kim Taylor