BEIJING - China's yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange in domestic financial institutions dropped by 73.6 billion yuan ($11.7 billion) from October to November, the country's central bank said on Friday.

This is the first decline after the figure saw a sharp monthly rise of 130.68 billion yuan in September and a much slower growth of 21.63 billion yuan in October, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

By the end of November, China's total yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange via financial institutions stood at 25.719 trillion yuan, the data showed.

Analysts said that the sharp monthly decline has surprised the market since November statistics showed a continuous expectation for the yuan to appreciate.

In China's foreign exchange spot market in November, the yuan touched its daily rising limit against the US dollar at some point during 20 of the month's 22 trading days.

The past month also witnessed a decline of $1.921 billion in China's foreign currency deposits for enterprises and individuals, indicating busy foreign exchange transactions at banks.

However, China's trade surplus, an indicator that helps explain the trend in funds for foreign exchange, shrank from $31.99 billion a month earlier to $19.63 billion in November, with exports growing slower than expected and imports unchanged.

But a detailed analysis of the reasons for the decline should wait until after the upcoming release of further sets of data, including figures for Foreign Direct Investment, according to analysts.

Despite the monthly drop, which means less cash injected into the market, analysts believe that the country's overall market liquidity remains steady and that further monetary easing measures are unlikely.

Analysts also said that the monthly fall does not necessarily represent "hot money," referring to speculative capital flowing out of the country.

China's funds outstanding for foreign exchange have undergone fluctuations this year due to uncertainties in the global financial market. The figure saw declines in July and August before two monthly rises in September and October.