China's foreign exchange reserves rose in April for a third straight month, beating market expectations, as capital control measures and a pause in the dollar's rally helped staunch capital outflows.

Reserves rose 21 billion dollars during April to a total of 3.03 trillion dollars, compared with an increase of 3.96 billion dollars in March to 3.009 trillion dollars.

China has tightened rules on moving capital outside the country in recent months as it seeks to support its currency and stem a slide in its foreign exchange reserves.

It burned through nearly 320 billion dollars of reserves last year but the Renminbi still fell about 6.5 percent against the dollar, its biggest annual drop since 1994.

The Renminbi's performance against the dollar has been steady in recent weeks after the dollar lost its upward momentum.

In April, US President Donald Trump backed away from labeling China a currency manipulator after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and attacked the dollar saying the greenback was "getting too strong" and would eventually hurt the economy.

Gold reserves rose to 75.02 billion dollars at the end of April, from 73.7 billion dollars at end-March, data published on the People's Bank of China website also showed.

(Source: Reuters)