2010-09-29 09:22

BEIJING - The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Tuesday Chinese banks' foreign exchange surplus on behalf of clients hit $29.1 billion in August, up 9.4 percent from the previous month.

Foreign exchange sales to banks totaled $113.2 billion in August while foreign exchange purchases from banks amounted to $84.1 billion, according to a statement on the SAFE website.

On behalf of clients, Chinese banks received $163.4 billion and paid $137.1 billion in overseas-related business in August.

The statement did not give reasons for the surplus rise.

The surplus of Chinese banks' forex purchases and sales on behalf of clients totaled $26.6 billion in July.

The banks purchased $114.2 billion of forex and sold $87.6 billion of forex to clients in July.