BEIJING — China's foreign exchange reserves expanded to $3.0915 trillion at the end of April, from $3.0606 trillion at the end of March, official data showed on May 7.

The amount exceeded market expectations of $3.056 trillion and ended a falling streak since January, according to data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

Wang Chunying, a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, attributed the pick-up in April to multiple factors such as valuation changes in exchange rates and asset price changes.

Despite a complex external economic and financial environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said the fundamentals for China's long-term sound development remain unchanged and its economy has great resilience, potential and room to maneuver, providing a solid foundation for the stability of foreign exchange reserves.

Echoing Wang's sentiments, Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank, said positive signs have emerged for the Chinese economy as the effects of the counter-cyclical regulations filtered through, the situation of the country's epidemic containment continued to improve, and businesses and production further recovered.

Wen also noted that international investors have remained upbeat about the country's economic outlook, and with the capital inflows, the country will see more balanced cross-border capital flows.

According to the PBOC data, the country's gold reserves remained unchanged in April at 62.64 million ounces, equivalent to $106.67 billion.