China reports surpluses in current, financial accounts in Q1

BEIJING - China's foreign exchange regulator said Thursday that the country saw surpluses under both the current account and financial account in the first quarter of this year.

The surplus under the current account, which measures China's foreign trade of goods and services, came in at $24.7 billion in the first quarter, down 14 percent year on year, according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

The surplus accounted for 1.4 percent of China's GDP during the period, shedding 1.4 percentage points from the ratio registered in 2011, a sign of a more balanced trend for the country's account sheet, said a SAFE official.

Meanwhile, the financial account that measures net capital inflow swung back to a surplus of $49.9 billion in the first quarter after logging a deficit in the fourth quarter of last year, the SAFE said.

Despite a slight quarter-on-quarter rebound, the net inflow is still at a lower range compared with the same period last year, the official said.

"This is in line with our earlier forecast that China will continue to see surpluses this year, but with sharply narrowed gains," said the official.

Excluding the effects of changes in exchange rates and asset prices, the country's international reserve assets added $74.6 billion in the first quarter.

The foreign exchange reserves increased $74.8 billion in the first three months, with reserves in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreasing $400 million while special drawing right (SDR) added $200 million, according to the statement.