China's H1 current account surplus at $77.2b

BEIJING -- China continues to post a surplus in both its current account and capital and finance account in the first half of 2012, according to the country's foreign exchange regulator on Wednesday.

China's current account surplus reached $77.2 billion in the first six months of the year, accounting for 2.1 percent of its gross domestic product, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a report.

Meanwhile, the capital and financial account surplus stood at $14.9 billion for the period, the report said.

During the second quarter of the year, the country ran a surplus of $53.7 billion in its current account and a deficit of $41.2 billion in its capital and financial account, it said.

After excluding effects of changes in the exchange rates and asset prices, China's international reserve assets decreased by $11.8 billion in the second quarter, with foreign exchange reserves down $11.2 billion, it added.