China's foreign exchange reserves reached 2.4543 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of June, up 15.1 percent year on year, the People's Bank of China, the central bank announced on Sunday.

Statistics from the central bank show China's foreign exchange reserves increased by 7.2 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter, a drastic decrease compared to the first quarter, when reserves grew by 126.5 billion U.S. dollars.

On a monthly basis, reserves increased by 43.4 billion U.S. dollars in April followed by a reduction of 51 billion U.S. dollars in May, while June saw reserves increase by 14.8 billion U.S. dollars.

China's gold reserves stood at 33.89 million ounces at the end of June.