Chinese banks see net forex purchase in 2022
Chinese banks reported a net foreign exchange purchase and stable cross-border capital flows in 2022, an official with the country's forex regulator said Wednesday.
The banks recorded a net forex purchase of 107.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, said Wang Chunying, deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
China's currency, the renminbi, remained generally stable at a reasonable and equilibrium level last year, with its two-way fluctuation and strong flexibility, Wang said.
Current account and foreign direct investment surpluses helped stabilize cross-border capital flows, Wang noted, adding that China's current account is expected to record a surplus at a balanced level in 2023.
Eurozone trade balance saw an €11.7 billion ($12.7 billion) deficit in November 2022, widened from €3.9 billion a year ago, led by energy, the EU's statistical office said on Friday.
The figure was well below than market forecast of a €21.1 billion gap for the month.
Imports surged 20.2% year-onyear to €276.3 billion in November while exports hiked 17.2% to €264.7 billion. The EU saw a trade deficit of €20.7 billion in the month, up from €10.7 billion in November 2021.
EU's exports to the rest of the world climbed 17.7% on annual basis to €237.3 billion and its imports stood at €258 billion, rising 21.5%.
In January-November, the goods trade deficit amounted to €305.1 billion, worsened from a surplus of €125 billion a year earlier. Trade gap in the EU reached $418.4 billion in the first eleven months of last year.
The EU's trade deficit grew sharply with Russia, reaching €143.3 billion in January-November 2022 from €63.8 billion in the same period previous year.
The deficit with China also jumped to €370 billion from €219.2 billion in the same period.
Oil prices declined on Wednesday over the double whammy of an expected rise in US crude oil inventories and growing fears about further interest rate hikes in the US.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $79.64 per barrel at 09.48 a.m. local time (0648GMT), a 0.57% decrease from the closing price of $80.10 a barrel in the previous trading session.
The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $74.63 per barrel at the same time, a 0.65% loss after the previous session closed at $75.12 a barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute announced its estimate of a rise of nearly 14.9 million barrels in US crude oil inventories relative to the market expectation of a 2.4 million barrels fall. Leading to investor caution, the new projected massive increase in crude stocks signaled falling crude demand in the US, the world's largest oil consumer, and weighed on oil prices.
Weak US demand fears grew further after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures "that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy."