An employee counts money at a bank in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province. (PHOTO / CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

BEIJING - China's foreign exchange reserves rose by 0.68 percent to US$3.2359 trillion at the end of July, compared with US$21.9 billion in June, according to official data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Saturday. 

The increase in foreign exchange reserves in July was attributed to the combined impact of currency translation and changes in asset prices

China's foreign exchange market saw basically balanced supply and demand in July, with the market expectations remaining stable, said Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of the SAFE.

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Wang attributed the increase in foreign exchange reserves in July to the combined impact of currency translation and changes in asset prices.

Last month, non-dollar currencies strengthened slightly and the prices of global financial assets went up as a result of factors such as the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the monetary policy expectations and macroeconomic data of major economies, Wang noted.

Despite uncertainty and instability in the global economic and financial situation triggered by the evolving pandemic, the Chinese economy continued stable recovery and high-quality development, which will shore up the overall stability of foreign exchange reserves, Wang said.