Beijing, Nov 20 (IANS): Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China dropped 0.24 percent year on year in October to $8.31 billion, according to figures released by the commerce ministry Tuesday.

The drop was less sharp compared to September, when FDI into China dropped year on year to $8.43 billion, reported Xinhua.

This is the fifth consecutive monthly drop in the country's FDI inflow.

The figure brought the total FDI inflow for the first 10 months of 2012 to $91.74 billion, down 3.45 percent year on year, said ministry spokesman Shen Danyang.

In the first 10 months, investment from the US reversed a trend of decline and rose 5.3 percent year on year to $2.7 billion. Investment from Japan surged 10.9 percent from a year earlier to $6.08 billion, Shen said.

Investment from the EU dropped 5 percent year on year to $5.24 billion.

The fall was smaller compared to the first nine months. Investment from the EU dropped 6.3 percent year on year to $4.83 billion from January to September.