PBOC foreign-exchange funds rise in July

The funds outstanding for foreign exchange in the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the country, registered 1.9 billion yuan ($310 million) in growth in July after the decline in June, according to the bank's latest balance.

The growth is still a far cry from the hundreds of billions' of yuan increase in the first five months.

The funds outstanding for foreign exchange, an indicator of capital inflow, stood at 25 trillion yuan as of late July, increasing by 1.3 trillion yuan from the beginning of the year, reflecting the huge capital influx in the hope of renminbi appreciation.

The capital inflow slowed down in June with 9.1 billion yuan's decrease in the funds.

The slowdown is caused by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's restriction of foreign exchange inflow in May, said Xie Yaxuan, analyst with China Merchants Securities Co Ltd, to Shanghai Dazhihui Co, a financial information and software provider.

Moreover, commercial banks held $9.4 billion in the purchase of foreign exchange in July, reducing the exchange settlement with the central bank, Xie added.