BEIJING — China's foreign currency reserves stood at $3.2049.9 trillion at the end of February, down from $3.2106.7 trillion registered at the end of January, the central bank said on March 7.

The country's gold reserves remained unchanged by the end of February at 62.64 million ounces, according to the People's Bank of China.

The foreign currency reserves fell by $5.7 billion at the end of February, or 0.18 percent month-on-month, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange spokesperson Wang Chunying.

China's foreign exchange market functioned smoothly with market expectations remaining stable, she said.

In global financial markets, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose, while the financial asset prices of major countries fell, due to the progress in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and major countries' fiscal policies and inflation expectations, she said.

She attributed the decline in China's foreign currency reserves to the combined effects of currency translation and changes in asset prices.

Wang, however, expected the scale of China's foreign currency reserves to remain generally stable, despite uncertainties in global financial markets amid virus-induced risks.