BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China’s foreign currency reserves fell slightly in January, official data showed on Sunday, likely due to valuation effects as the dollar posted a small gain against a basket of major currencies. China’s foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, fell to $3.211 trillion last month, compared with $3.200 trillion tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and $3.217 trillion in December. The U.S. dollar index rose by 0.7% against a basket of currencies in January. The dollar accounted for 58% of China’s reserves in 2015, according to latest data. Foreign inflows into Chinese stocks and bonds have been strong as China gallops ahead of other major economies in its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign investors held more than a tenth of all outstanding Chinese government bonds (CGBs) for the first time in January, as demand surged on a combination of higher yields and a stronger yuan. China held 62.64 million fine troy ounces of gold at the end of January, unchanged from December. The value of the gold reserves fell to $116.76 billion at the end of January from $118.25 billion at the end of December. (Reporting by Cate Cadell and Stella Qiu; Editing by Kim Coghill)