China's forex reserves fall for first time since Asian crisis China's forex reserves have ballooned in recent years, fuelled by strong foreign investment, large trade surpluses and inflows of "hot money" - short-term speculative funds in search of quick profits. The fall in the reserves reflects capital outflows in the quarter due to expectations of a yuan depreciation and increased investor interest in holding dollars, HSBC economist Ma Xiaoping told Dow Jones. The fundamentals of China's economy offer support for a future rise in the value of the yuan and "the quarterly fall should be temporary," she said.