File photo: Xinhua

BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange fell for a 16th straight month in November, central bank data showed Monday.

The funds stood at 21.2 trillion yuan (about 3 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of last month, down by 1.18 billion yuan from October, according to a statement on the website of the People's Bank of China.

As the Chinese yuan is not freely convertible under the capital account, the central bank has to purchase foreign currency generated by trade surplus and foreign investment in the country, adding funds to the money market.

Such funds are an important indicator of cross-border foreign capital flows and domestic yuan liquidity.

A similar measure of capital flow, China's foreign exchange reserves rose to 3.11 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of November, up 0.7 percent from the beginning of 2019, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.