Major Chinese banks began to sell off dollars to support the yuan, Reuters reported, citing sources in the banking sector.

Large state banks in China on Monday sold a large number of U.S. dollars using a combination of swap and spot transactions.

According to the agency, the relevant order was received by credit institutions back in September. At the same time, the exchange rate fell to 6.95 yuan per dollar after the sale of dollars.

One Reuters source pointed out that the operation to strengthen the yuan, most likely, did not affect China's foreign exchange reserves, which amount to $3 trillion.

On Sept. 26, the People's Bank of China lowered the national currency to 7 yuan per dollar for the first time since July 2020.