China's forex slides $70bn as outflows accelerate

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell nearly $70bn last month as the country’s central bank defended the renminbi from greater depreciation on the back of accelerating capital outflows, the Financial Times reports. Reserves at the People’s Bank of China fell $69.1bn to $3.051tn in November, a decline of 2.2% from the previous month and the largest drop since a 3% fall in January. Analysts predict Beijing will continue tightening capital controls, measures that European and US businesses say have disrupted their operations. The fifth consecutive monthly fall points to growing difficulty for policymakers. Since a sharp renminbi depreciation in August 2015, Beijing has sought to combat more severe softening against the dollar by selling the US currency from the central bank’s forex reserves. About half the decline is likely to have been because of the dollar’s rally.