China's June forex reserves grow by $20 billion

Data released by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) showed on Thursday that China's foreign exchange reserves in June unexpectedly rose by $20 billion to $3.21 trillion, rebounding from a 5-year low in May. Reserves denominated in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights currency also increased, rising to 2.29 trillion in June from 2.28 trillion in May. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted reserves would fall by $20 billion to $3.17 trillion.

"This indicates that the PBOC didn’t heavily intervene in the currency market last month as it let the yuan depreciate in accordance with market supply and demand," said Nathan Chow, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong.

China’s foreign reserves have stabilized at about the same level as they were in January. The holdings shrank last year for the first time since 1992, ending a 22-year ascent. While the holdings have remained steady this year, they’re still down 20 percent from a $4 trillion peak in June 2014.