China swings back to capital account surplus

Data released by China's top foreign exchange regulator on Thursday showed the country swung back to a surplus under the capital and financial account in the first quarter after recording a deficit last year for the first time since 1999.

The surplus under the capital and financial account reached 101.8 billion U.S. dollars in the January-March period, compared with 31.8 billion dollars of deficit for Q4 and 117.3 billion dollars of deficit for 2012, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

Meanwhile, China maintained a surplus of 55.2 billion dollars in its current account that reflects the country's foreign trade with partners, compared with 65.8 billion dollars in Q4 and 213.8 billion dollars for 2012.

The SAFE's preliminary data also showed the country increased its international reserve assets by 157 billion dollars in the first three months of 2013.