According to Bloomberg's data, foreign reserves of the 12 biggest emerging economies, excluding China and economies with pegged exchange rates, dropped about 2% to $2.8 trillion in 2015. The actual fall may be smaller as the stronger U.S. dollar led to a lower value of other reserve currencies.

China used more than $400 billion in reserves to stabilise its currency, while most other developing countries such as Russia and Thailand used their foreign reserves to boost their exports.