China commercial banks' net FX sales rise to highest since March

Chinese banks' net sales of foreign exchange in November rose to their highest since March as capital outflows increased amid concerns over a steadily declining yuan in the face of a strong dollar.
Commercial bank's net sales of foreign exchange totalled $33.4 billion in November, up from $14.6 billion in October, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.
For the January to November period, net forex sales stood at $291.4 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website.
The yuan weakened past 6.95 per dollar on Friday to its weakest level since May 2008, with falls accelerating after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday.
China's cross-border capital flows were largely stable in November, despite relatively big changes in the external environment, the country's foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.
November capital outflows increased from October due to expectations the Fed would raise rates and a strong dollar, SAFE said.
China's foreign exchange reserves fell by $69.06 billion in November to its lowest in nearly six years, as the authorities struggled to stem capital outflows and shore up the sliding yuan.
The central bank sold a net $55.4 billion worth of foreign exchange in November, the highest since January, as the authorities stepped up efforts to shore up the weakening yuan, according to data released on Wednesday.
Beijing has been trying to stem the flow of capital abroad with a string of measures aimed at closing loopholes and clamping down on illegal transfers, but pressure is growing as the yuan accelerates its decline against the dollar.