BEIJING - The People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced Monday the country's yuan funds stemming from foreign exchanges dropped in October on a month-on-month basis, for the first time in nearly four years.

Last month, the amount decreased by 24.9 billion yuan (about $3.8 billion) from September.

As of the end of October, the nation's total yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchanges stood at 25.5 trillion yuan, the data showed.

Rising yuan funds have become a problem for the nation's monetary authorities, complicating their task of making policies that can serve both steady economic growth and inflation control. By purchasing foreign currencies, the central bank releases an equivalent value of yuan currency, which leads to an increase in liquidity.

In March, China's newly increased yuan funds reached 407.9 billion yuan, a record monthly high. In August, new yuan funds sharply rebounded to 376.9 billion yuan, up from 219.6 billion yuan in July. However, new yuan funds in September again dipped, to 247.3 billion yuan.