Singapore: China’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to their lowest level in more than three years, the central bank said today, as Beijing sells dollars to stop the yuan from depreciating further.

The world’s largest currency hoard shrank by 99.5 billion US Dollar in January to some 3.2 trillion US Dollar , the People’s Bank of China said on its website, the lowest since May 2012.

Worries about China’s economy have pushed the yuan to a five-year low. The country saw its first-ever annual decline in foreign exchange reserves last year as Beijing tried to prevent a more drastic devaluation.

The pace of decline in the reserves in January was slower than December, which at some 108 billion US Dollar was the largest monthly drop on record.

Global investors are closely watching the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy, which has created turbulence in world markets.