Foreign exchange reserve shoots up in 2004

China's outstanding foreign exchange reserve hit a record 609.9 billion US dollars at the end of 2004, up 206.7 billion dollars from a year earlier, the central bank said in a report Thursday.

The increase of forex reserve in 2004 is 89.9 billion dollars higher against that of 2003, it said.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said the US dollar depreciation and speculation on renminbi appreciation contributed to the foreign currency inflow.

The renminbi exchange rate remained basically stable by the end of last year, the report said.