China's capital outflow has eased, according to newly released foreign exchange sales data for the first quarter, a spokeswoman for the foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday.

The effect of the United States interest rate hikes and Washington's planned budget cuts on China's capital flows has also been diminishing, said Wang Chunying, a senior official at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

China's commercial banks had net sales of $40.9 billion in foreign exchange in the first quarter, down from $124.8 billion in net sales in the first quarter of 2016, Wang said.