BEIJING -- China continued to see a foreign exchange (forex) settlement deficit in January, as forex flowed out of the country at the retail level.

Chinese banks sold $193 billions' worth of foreign currencies to individuals and institutions, and bought $138.6 billion from them, resulting in a net sale of $54.4 billion last month, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Tuesday.

China's foreign exchange reserves posted the sharpest monthly fall on record in December, falling to $3.33 trillion, the lowest level in more than three years, official data showed.

Concerns about capital outflows have been on the rise as the economy slows, and the currency has been heading south since China revamped the foreign exchange mechanism last year.

However, authorities have repeatedly said there is no basis for continued weakness of the currency as the country's economic fundamentals remain sound.