China's cross-border capital outflow pressures eased, no major impact from Brexit - China SAFE

Chinese forex markets regulator, SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange) said that there hasn’t been a big impact of Brexit on China's capital flows. SAFE data showed earlier on Thursday that China's commercial banks sold a net $12.8 billion worth of foreign exchange in June, up slightly from $12.5 billion in May. Net forex sales totaled $173.8 billion in the first half of the year.

"The pressure on cross-border capital outflows has been steadily easing. China will be able to keep cross-border capital flows steady given its relatively sound economic fundamentals, solid current account surplus and ample foreign exchange reserves," said SAFE spokeswoman Wang Chunying.

Expectations of yuan depreciation are weakening. The People's Bank of China last week reported its June forex sales were the highest in three months as the central bank sought to shield the yuan from market volatility caused by Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

On Monday, the yuan slipped below 6.7 per dollar for the first time since late 2010, reviving some market fears of heavy capital outflows. As of Thursday midday, the yuan was around 6.67 to the dollar, down 2.7 percent for the year.