China's foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly rose in November for the first time in four months as the yuan posted a rare gain amid signs of a thaw in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
China's reserves, the world's largest, rose by $9 billion in November to $3.062 trillion, central bank data showed on Friday.
That marked the first increase since July and compared with a drop of $33.93 billion in October, which raised concerns that the central bank was having to intervene more frequently in markets to support the faltering yuan currency.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to drop
$16 billion to $3.037 trillion.
The gain in November was due to changes in global currency rates and asset prices, according to China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), adding it expected reserve levels to remain stable despite market fluctuations.
Capital Economics said in a note that the PBOC appeared to have seen less need to intervene last month to support the yuan. It estimated the central bank likely sold around $11 billion of foreign exchange last month, down slightly from October and pointing to a moderation in outflows.
The yuan has been under pressure this year from a host of factors, ranging from a strong dollar and the escalating Sino-US trade dispute to cooling economic growth at home, which has prompted Chinese authorities to shift to easier fiscal and monetary policy.
It eked out a 0.2 percent rise versus the dollar in November, its first monthly gain since March, supported first by state-owned banks and later by news that US President Donald Trump would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to discuss trade at the end of that month.
The high-stakes talks culminated in an agreement between the US and China to hold off on any additional tariffs for another 90 days while the two sides resumed negotiations to try to bridge their differences.
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