BEIJING, July 21 -- China's commercial banks continued to see a net forex settlement surplus in June, which reached 58.9 billion yuan (about 8.24 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed Friday.

In yuan terms, forex purchases by banks stood at 1.43 trillion yuan, while sales reached about 1.37 trillion yuan, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

The SAFE said the country's banks posted a net forex settlement surplus of 14.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year.

Despite external challenges such as sluggish global economic recovery, volatile international financial markets, and complex geopolitical situations, China's forex market has remained resilient and balanced in the first six months of the year, Wang Chunying, deputy head of the SAFE, said at a press conference.

Wang said the country has the foundation, capability, and confidence to maintain the stability of the forex market, prevent yuan exchange rate volatility, and keep the exchange rate relatively stable at reasonable and balanced levels.