China posts Q1 capital and financial account surplus - FX regulator

BEIJING (Reuters) - China recorded a surplus in its capital and financial account in the first quarter, the foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday, indicating net capital inflows as policymakers tightened supervision of outflows.

For the quarter, China posted a $39.3 billion surplus in its capital and financial account, versus a preliminary deficit of $19 billion, data from the Sate Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

"In the first quarter, domestic investors' overseas investment became rational and foreign investors continued to increase investment in China," SAFE said in an accompanying statement.

China also recorded a final current account surplus of $18.4 billion in the first three months of this year. It had reported a preliminary surplus of $19 billion.

The current account surplus stayed in a reasonable range and cross-border capital flows improved significantly in the first quarter, SAFE said.

The forex regulator said earlier this month that cross-border capital flows are stabilising and continued the good momentum from May.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Richard Borsuk)