Chinese banks report net forex purchase

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese banks saw a net foreign exchange purchase in January as domestic demand and supply of foreign currencies remained basically balanced, data from the country's forex regulator showed Friday.

Chinese lenders bought 242.2 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign currencies and sold 214.4 billion dollars' worth in January, resulting in a net purchase of 27.8 billion dollars, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.

Cross-border investment flows remained active last month, with net inflows of cross-border direct investment funds up 9 percent year on year to 11.4 billion dollars, said Wang Chunying, deputy head of the SAFE.

Wang noted that under mounting inflationary pressures, the shift of monetary policies in major developed economies may accelerate.

China's stable economic recovery, advancing opening-up in the financial market and balanced international payment sheet will continue to play a role in stabilizing market expectation and confidence, Wang added.

Earlier data showed China's foreign exchange reserves came in at 3.2216 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of January, down 28.5 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.88 percent, from the end of 2021.