Chinese banks report net forex sales in June

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese commercial banks reported net foreign exchange sales last month, following a settlement surplus in May, data from the country's forex regulator showed Thursday.

Chinese lenders bought 142.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign currencies while selling 161.6 billion dollars worth last month, resulting in net sales of 19.3 billion dollars, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.

In the first half of the year, the banks recorded total net forex sales of 33.2 billion dollars, the data showed.