China's foreign-exchange reserves have fallen for the first time since December 2003.

Forex regulatory official Cai Qiusheng made the claim in a weekend speech but did not say when or by how much the reserves had retreated. China's forex reserves totalled $1.9 trillion (£1.27 trillion) at the end of September, the central bank's quarterly data show.

Meanwhile, Beijing has announced that it will give local governments more power to support their property markets to help turn around a nationwide real-estate slump.

Falling home sales are undermining construction and domestic consumption just as export demand collapses because of recessions in the US, Europe and Japan.

Royal Bank of Scotland last week cut its forecast for China's growth in 2009 by almost half to 5%, which would be the weakest pace since 1990.

More than 200 billion yuan (£19.6 billion) is sitting idle in individual housing funds nationwide, vice housing minister Qi Ji said in March. All employees and companies in China are supposed to contribute to a personal fund that can be drawn on when workers want to buy or redecorate their home.