BEIJING — Economic fundamentals and a stable yuan will keep China’s foreign exchange reserves basically stable, a central bank official said.

Forex reserves had been on the rise for 12 months before February’s decline, Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), told a news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual legislative session.

The slight decline in February was caused by both the rise of the US dollar exchange rate index and the falling bond price index in the international market, Pan said.

The US dollar exchange rate index rose 1.7 percent last month while stock markets in the United States, eurozone and Japan all dropped by 4 - 5 percent.

China’s forex reserves stood at $3.1 trillion in February, down nearly $27 billion from January.

The forex stockpile has increased steadily since February 2017 after dipping below $3 trillion in January last year.