(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- China's foreign exchange reserves fell for the second consecutive month to the lowest since October last year in September. Meanwhile, the country's gold reserves increased for the 11th month in a row.

China's forex reserves stood at USD3.12 trillion at the end of last month, down USD45 billion from the end of August, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The figure came in at USD3.05 trillion at the end of October last year.

The SAFE attributed the decline to the impact of currency translation and global financial asset price changes.

The US dollar index jumped 2.5 percent to 106.2, while non-US dollar currencies depreciated. The Barclays Global Aggregate Total Return Index USD Hedged fell 1.7 percent, and the S&P 500 Index plunged 4.9 percent.

The SAFE also released China's gold reserves data for September yesterday. As of Sep. 30, the country had 70.5 million ounces of gold, up 840,000 ounces from the end of the previous month.

Since last year, the central banks of many countries, especially emerging economies, have significantly increased their gold reserves because of geopolitical and global economic stagflation risks.

Raising gold reserves can modulate and optimize the overall risk-return characteristics of international reserves, helping coordinate and maintain the safety, liquidity, and profitability of international reserves, according to market analysts.

Editor: Futura Costaglione