BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, said on Wednesday that the country's newly increased yuan funds stemming from foreign exchanges totaled 376.94 billion yuan (59.1 billion U.S. dollars) in August, representing a five month high.

The figure also saw a sharp rise of 72 percent from a month earlier, according to data from the PBOC.

The nation's total yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchanges stood at 25.26 trillion yuan as of the end of August, the PBOC data showed.

Yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchanges have been growing at a more rapid pace since the beginning of this year compared to last. Monthly increases of new yuan funds averaged 335.63 billion yuan in the first eight months, compared to the average monthly increase of 272.35 billion yuan in 2010.