(Yicai Global) April 8 -- China’s foreign exchange reserves fell for the fourth straight month in March due to fluctuations in foreign currency and asset prices.

Reserves dropped by 1.1 percent to USD3.17 trillion as of late March from a month earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced yesterday.

The US Dollar Index gained and major economies’ bond prices fell while stock prices around the world were on the rise due to the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine development, as well as fiscal and monetary policy expectations, said SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying.

In March, the USDX rose 2.44 percent to 93.181. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6.62 percent to 3,2981.55 points and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index jumped 7.78 percent to 3,919.21 points.

China's domestic economic development is gathering steam and the increasing positive factors are conducive to maintaining stable foreign exchange reserves whereas international financial markets still face many uncertainties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Wang added.

China's gold reserves stood at 62.64 million ounces on March 31, basically unchanged from a month earlier.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi