China bank chief says 'speculators' caused yuan fall
Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan has accused "speculative forces" of targeting the country's currency, the yuan.
He said there was no reason for the yuan to keep depreciating in value and that China would not let international speculators dominate market sentiment.
Mr Zhou's remarks come as Chinese markets prepare to reopen on Monday after a week-long New Year holiday.
Efforts to defend the yuan have eroded China's foreign currency reserves.
At $3.23tn (2.84tn euros; £2.2tn), China still has the world's biggest reserve of foreign currency holdings.
But that has declined by $420bn over six months and stands at the lowest level since May 2012.
In January alone, the reserves plunged by $99.5bn as the People's Bank of China sold dollars in an effort to shore up the value of the yuan.