Foreign exchange sales pick up in Aug

Chinese banks sold more foreign currency than they bought for clients in August, leading to a net sale of $6.3 billion in foreign exchange in over-the-counter transactions, figures from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Tuesday.

That reverses $500 million of net foreign currency purchases in July.

Chinese banks were net forex sellers in April this year as well as in November and December 2011. In the first eight months, Chinese banks had net foreign exchange purchases of a $23.6 billion, the currency regulator said in a statement on its website. China has the world's largest foreign exchange reserves at $3.2 trillion.

Banks' over-the-counter foreign exchange transactions have helped accumulate huge amounts in recent years, as exporters and investors sell dollars to Chinese banks, which in turn sell most of them to the central bank in the interbank market.

China Daily-Agencies