Chinese banks' net forex sales slightly up in April

Net foreign exchange (forex) sales by Chinese banks rose slightly in April while capital outflow remained tame, official data showed Wednesday.

Banks bought 121 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign currencies and sold 136 billion dollars, resulting in net sales of 15 billion dollars last month, down 37 percent year on year, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The deficit was up from March's 12 billion dollars and February's 10 billion dollars, but lower than the 19 billion dollars in January.

In the January-April period, banks' net forex sales stood at 56 billion U.S. dollars, up from 41 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter.

The SAFE said in a statement that forex demand and supply were basically balanced in April, noting that cross-border fund flow had improved.

There had been rising concerns about capital flight since the second half of 2016, when the economy was facing downward pressure and the Chinese yuan declining against the U.S. dollar.

The yuan has gradually recovered in recent months, as the economy started 2017 on a firmer footing, indicated by a string of economic data including factory activity, foreign trade and fixed-asset investment. Endi