BEIJING -- China's commercial banks saw a net forex settlement surplus of 553.1 billion yuan (about $78.6 billion) in the first half this year, the country's forex regulator said Friday.

Forex purchases by banks stood at 6.7 trillion yuan from January to June, while sales came in at 6.15 trillion yuan, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

The amount of forex settlement and sales by banks for customers stood at 5.7 trillion yuan and 5.35 trillion yuan, respectively, with a settlement surplus of 349.4 billion yuan.

In June alone, commercial banks saw a net forex settlement surplus of 6 billion yuan.

The country's cross-border capital flows are generally stable, and the forex market is basically balanced in supply and demand in the first half, said Wang Chunying, deputy director and spokesperson of SAFE.