China’s holdings of US Treasury securities fell in July, while Japan increased its possession slightly.

China’s holdings of the US treasuries dropped by about $30.4 billion to $1.2408 trillion in July, the latest data from the Treasury Department showed on Sept 16.

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.56 trillion at the end of August, down $93.9 billion, marking the fourth consecutive month of falling forex reserves, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

The PBOC attributed the drop partly to the falling prices of major financial assets on the global market, and its market operations to provide enough liquidity, as commercial banks, companies and individuals held more foreign currencies following a sharp depreciation of the yuan, the Chinese currency, in August.

Japan, the second largest foreign holder of US treasuries, increased its holdings by $400 million to $1.1975 trillion in July, after cutting its holdings for three months in a row.

In July, overall foreign holdings of US Treasury securities fell to $6.0766 trillion from June’s $6.1752 trillion.