IN JUST A FEW DAYS, The turmoil in China has wiped 2,500 billion dollars from the global stock markets

The markets in China have seen a new major decline yesterday, which caused the triggering of the "circuit breaker" mechanism, which halts trading to reduce volatility, for the second time this week. The situation comes after Monday's similar episode, which has generated turbulence amid all the markets in the world, wiping almost 2,500 billion dollars off the valuation of world stocks, according to Bloomberg figures. For the global stock markets, the beginning of 2016 has been the worst since 2000.

Yesterday, the major index of the Shenzhen market fell 8.2%, to 1,958.09 points, and that of the Shanghai exchange - 7%, to 3,125. The CSI 300 index, which comprises the stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, dropped 6.9%, to 3,294.38.

Whereas on Monday, the Chinese stock exchanges fell after the publication of weak data about the biggest economy in Asia, yesterday, the decline was caused by the depreciation of the yuan, which fell to its lowest level since February 2011. China's central bank yesterday set a reference exchange rate for the yuan of 6.5646 units / dollar, 0.5% lower than on the previous day. The daily drop is the biggest since August.

This week, the yuan has not only depreciated against the dollar, but also against other important currencies: -3.5% against the yen and -0.8% compared to the Euro.

Given these developments, concerns have appeared on the financial markets that Beijing is depreciating its currency to prop up its exports.

The impact of the evolution of the Chinese stock market has been felt on the European markets as well, which have fallen to their lowest level since August.

American billionaire of Hungarian origin George Soros yesterday said that the global markets are facing a devastating crisis, and investors should be extremely careful.

According to him, China is struggling to find a new growth model, while the devaluation of the yuan carries Beijing's problems all over the world. Soros warned: "China has a major adjustment problem. I would say it is a new crisis. When I look at the financial markets, I see a major challenge, which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008".

• China's foreign currency reserves, in a record decline

China's foreign currency reserves, the biggest in the world, have decreased by 107.9 billion dollars in December 2015, to 3,330 billion dollars, a record monthly decline, according to data provided by the Beijing central bank.

Analysts were estimating reserves of 3,400 billion dollars.

Over the course of last year, China's foreign currency reserves decreased by 512.66 billion dollars, also a record.

The value of China's gold reserves was 60.19 billion dollars at the end of December, compared to 59.52 billion dollars in the previous month.