BEIJING — China's foreign exchange reserves came in at $3.0606 trillion at the end of March, official data showed on April 7.

The amount dipped by $47.3 billion, or 1.5 percent, from the beginning of 2020, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The country's forex market remained generally stable in March, with the dip driven by multiple factors including exchange rates and changes in asset prices, said Wang Chunying, a spokeswoman and chief economist for the SAFE.

Factors including further spread of the novel coronavirus and sharp decline of international crude oil prices led to an increase in the US dollar index and changes in asset prices of major countries, according to Wang.

Despite mounting external uncertainties, the sound fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth will remain unchanged, providing a solid foundation for the forex reserves to remain generally stable, Wang said.

Wang also noted that China's forex market will maintain overall stability as the resumption is accelerating and domestic real economy is gradually shoring up among the country's ramped-up efforts to prevent and control the epidemic.

While sharp volatility in global financial market made a dent on institutional investors worldwide, monthly fluctuation in the country's forex market is normal, said Wen Bin, chief analyst at the China Minsheng Bank.

"With steady cross-border capital flows, China's forex reserves are expected to remain stable and be able to weather various risks," Wen said.