China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Edge Up to $3.405 Trillion as Beijing Leans Against Rapid Yuan Gains

China’s foreign exchange reserves rose slightly in October, according to official data released Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, keeping them above $3.4 trillion for a seventh straight month. The figures arrive as the People’s Bank of China takes steps to slow a months-long appreciation of the yuan against the U.S. dollar.

Reserves up $4.9 billion

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said reserves stood at $3.4052 trillion at the end of October, up $4.9 billion, or 0.14%, from the end of September. The regulator attributed the increase to the combined effect of currency translation and changes in asset prices, as the U.S. dollar index rose and major global financial assets moved in mixed directions. It said China’s economy remained broadly stable, supporting the overall stability of reserves.

Gold, which is counted separately, rose for a 24th month to 78.3 million ounces, though the share of gold in official reserves fell about 0.5 percentage point to roughly 7.9% because of lower gold prices, China Daily reported.

What moved the valuation

Analysts quoted by Xinhua Finance broke down the factors. Guan Tao, chief economist at Huafu Securities, said the increase mainly reflected positive valuation effects from exchange-rate translation and asset prices. In currencies, the dollar index rose 0.4% in October to 101.9. The euro and yen fell 1.5% and 0.1% against the dollar, while the British pound gained 1.0%, which together likely produced a negative translation effect.

Asset prices offset that. A dollar-denominated hedged global bond index rose 1.7% in October after falling 1.6% in September, while the S&P 500 extended its decline to 0.9% for the month from 0.5% in September, according to the report. Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said he expects exports to remain resilient, supported by strong demand across the global artificial intelligence supply chain and possible improvement in shipments to the United States.

A stronger yuan in October

Guan said the yuan strengthened across its official midpoint and onshore and offshore spot rates in October. The midpoint appreciated for a 13th consecutive month, by 0.3% after 0.7% in September. Onshore and offshore spot rates strengthened for a fourth straight month, gaining 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The CFETS yuan index rose 0.6% in October, and the indexes based on BIS and SDR currency baskets rose 0.9% and 0.8%; over the first 10 months of the year the three indexes gained 5.9%, 6.6% and 6.6%. Average daily interbank spot volume fell 2.9% to $39.6 billion, the second-lowest level of the year.

The central bank pushes back

Early November brought signs that Beijing wants to slow the rally. On Nov. 3, the PBOC said it would raise the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio, the share of foreign-currency deposits banks must hold in reserve, by 2 percentage points to 6% from 4%, effective Nov. 15, China Daily reported. The move followed the onshore yuan’s strengthening to 6.64 per dollar. Commerzbank analysts wrote that the announcement reversed the yuan after 13 consecutive sessions of gains, its longest winning streak since 1996, and that the measure was more likely to slow appreciation than reverse a trend supported by China’s large trade surplus.

The PBOC also set weaker-than-expected daily guidance. On Friday, Nov. 6, it fixed the yuan’s central parity rate at 6.7168 per dollar, 12 pips weaker than the previous day, Xinhua reported. That fixing was 406 pips weaker than a Reuters estimate of 6.6762, according to The Economic Times, which cited Reuters. The onshore yuan is allowed to trade 2% on either side of the midpoint.

The onshore yuan was at 6.6690 per dollar early Friday and headed for a weekly loss of about 0.2%, which would snap a five-week winning streak, the report said, as a sharp sell-off in equities also weighed on sentiment. Kiyong Seong, Asia rates strategist at Societe Generale, said the yuan appeared closer to its peak as the PBOC signals resistance to one-sided appreciation; the bank expects the dollar-yuan rate to bottom at 6.60 in the first quarter of 2027.

Sources: State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Nov. 7, 2026; Xinhua Finance (cnfin.com), Nov. 7, 2026; China Daily, Nov. 7, 2026; Xinhua, Nov. 6, 2026; The Economic Times/Reuters, Nov. 6, 2026; China Daily, Nov. 3, 2026; FXStreet/Commerzbank, Nov. 4, 2026.