China forex reserves hit $3 trillion 

China's foreign exchange reserves rose 24.4 percent year-on-year to $3.044 trillion by the end of March, said the People's Bank of China on Thursday, adding to what is already the world's largest stockpile of foreign exchange reserves.

The central bank had previously reported its reserves stood at $2.847 trillion at the end of 2010.

Currency holdings rose by about $197.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, despite the $1.02 billion trade deficit posted by China for the quarter. This growth implies a large influx of "hot money," short-term speculative funds in search of quick profits.

Exchange-rate swings also affect the value of the reserves, said Vice Minister of Finance Li Yong in an article published Tuesday. U.S. dollar assets account for 70 percent of China's foreign exchange reserves, and euro assets for 20 percent. Depreciation of both the U.S. dollar and the euro is causing capital losses of China's forex reserves.

Chinese gold reserves stood at 33.89 million ounces at the end of March.

China overtook Japan to become the world's biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves in 2006 after its stockpile grew to $1.066 trillion. The reserves jumped to $2.13 trillion in 2009.

央行昨天公布的数据显示，2011年3月末，国家外汇储备余额为30447亿美元，同比增长24.4%，我国外汇储备首次突破3万亿美元大关，继续稳坐全球外汇储备第一大国位置。

对比2010年末外汇储备28473亿美元，今年一季度我国外汇储备单季增加高达1974亿美元。一季度我国出现10.2亿美元的贸易逆差, 专家认为，一季度外汇储备激增表明热钱流入较多。

目前我国外汇储备以美元和欧元资产为主，其中有约70%为美元资产。财政部副部长李勇近日撰文指出，欧元和美元贬值已使我国外汇储备出现账面亏损。

此外，一季度末，我国外汇储备中的黄金储备数量未发生变化，依然持有3389万盎司的黄金储备。

2006年2月底，我国首次超过日本，位居全球第一。同年10月，我国外汇储备首次突破1万亿美元大关。2009年6月，外汇储备突破2万亿美元，此后不到一年时间，外汇储备增长到3万亿美元。