BEIJING — Chinese banks saw foreign exchange (forex) settlement surplus last month, data from the country's forex regulator showed on April 23.

In March, the amount of forex settlement by banks was $221.7 billion, while the amount of forex sales was $202 billion, resulting in a surplus of $19.7 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

In the first quarter, the banks recorded a forex settlement surplus of $88.5 billion, the data showed.