Chinese banks' net forex sales rise in May

BEIJING - Net foreign exchange (forex) sales by Chinese banks continued to rise in May but cross-border fund flows remained stable, China's forex regulator said Friday.

Banks bought $129.6 billion worth of foreign currencies and sold $146.7 billion, resulting in net sales of $17.1 billion last month, up 15 percent from April, according to a statement from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The monthly deficit had been rising gradually since February, and the May data was still lower than the $19 billion in January.

SAFE said the country's cross-border fund flows continued to stabilize with a positive outlook, noting that the forex supply and demand remained basically balanced.

In the January-May period, bank net forex sales stood at $72.9 billion, up from $56 billion in the first four months.

There have been rising concerns about capital flight since the second half of 2016, when the economy was facing downward pressure and the Chinese yuan was in the middle of a losing streak against the US dollar.

But the yuan has gradually recovered from its weakness as the Chinese economy firmed up in the first quarter of the year, with forecast-beating GDP growth, and the greenback becoming less volatile.