Chinese banks see record forex surplus in Jan

BEIJING -- China's foreign exchange regulator announced Monday that Chinese banks' total foreign exchange surplus from bank-to-client transactions reached a record high of $92.6 billion in January.

Chinese individuals and institutions exchanged $181.8 billion in foreign currency for yuan through Chinese banks while buying $89.2 billion in foreign currency from financial institutions in January, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The figures mark the fifth straight month for the banks' foreign exchange surplus to widen.

The China International Capital Corporation (CICC) forecast in a recent report that China's yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange would increase by the same amount in January, suggesting that the short-term capital inflow has reached 370 billion yuan ($58.9 billion).

But the report said the substantial rise was mainly caused by short-term factors, including the inflow of hot money into the stock and property markets.

New property curbs introduced last week will dampen the trend, the report said.

"There is no need for significant monetary tightening to offset the increase in funds outstanding for foreign exchange," the report said, adding that the central bank is unlikely to introduce drastic measures, such as raising the banks' reserve requirement ratio, to drain liquidity.