BEIJING, May 17: Chinese banks bought more foreign currency than they sold for clients in April, with net purchases of $34.3 billion in over-the-counter transactions, figures from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange(SAFE) showed on Friday.
The figure marked the eighth straight month of net purchases, reinforcing signs of capital inflows, though they eased from March’s net purchase of $44.6 billion.
In the first four months, Chinese banks made net foreign exchange purchases of $203.6 billion for clients, SAFE said on on its website, www.Safe.Gov.Cn
Chinese banks were also net buyers of $9.1 billion in the forwards market in April.
Other data released on Wednesday showed China’s central bank and commercial banks bought 294 billion yuan ($47.81 billion) worth of foreign exchange on a net basis in April, marking the fifth straight month of net purchases, implying a rise in money inflows.
China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, standing at $3.44 trillion at the end of March.
The accumulation reflects the country’s capital controls, under which exporters and investors sell dollars to Chinese banks, which in turn sells most of them to the central bank.
(AGENCIES)
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