Banks see net forex sales in July

Chinese commercial banks saw net foreign exchange sales in July and cross-border capital flows have remained basically stable, the country’s forex regulator said on Friday. 

Chinese lenders bought US$168.3 billion worth of foreign currencies and sold US$177.6 billion worth last month, resulting in net sales of US$9.4 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.

In the first seven months, the banks recorded a net forex purchase of US$4.4 billion.

SAFE said supply and demand in China’s foreign exchange market had remained generally stable, with rational and orderly transactions of market entities.

Earlier data showed China’s foreign exchange reserves rose US$5.8 billion, or 0.19 percent, from a month earlier to US$3.1 trillion at the end of July.

Despite increasing fluctuations in the international financial market, the Chinese economy has kept a stable trend, offering fundamental support for the forex market, SAFE said.

China’s economy grew 6.8 percent annually in the first half of 2018.