Chinese banks' forex sales narrow in April

BEIJING -- Chinese banks saw $23.7 billion of net foreign exchange sales in April, down from March, official data showed Monday.

Chinese lenders bought $115 billion's worth of foreign currency last month and sold $138.7 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.

The amount has narrowed from the $36.4 billion seen in March and $33.9 billion in February, suggesting the pressure of capital outflow is easing, SAFE explained in a separate statement.

Concerns about capital outflows had been on the rise as the economy slowed and the Chinese currency had fallen since China revamped its forex mechanism last year.

But resumed stability in international financial markets and positive signs in the domestic economy have reduced the pressure of capital outflow since the start of this year.

In the foreseeable future, China's growth will stay in a reasonable range, which will fundamentally support the stable flow of cross-border capital, the SAFE predicted.