Chinese banks bought more foreign currency than they sold for clients in September, making net purchases of $6.3 billion in foreign exchange in over-the-counter transactions, figures from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Wednesday.

That reverses $6.3 billion of net foreign currency sales in August. Banks were net forex sellers in June and April this year, as well as in November and December 2011.

In the first nine months, Chinese banks made net foreign exchange purchases of $30 billion, the currency regulator said in a statement on its website.

China has in recent years accumulated huge foreign exchange reserves - the world's biggest pile, worth $3.29 trillion at the end of September - as firms sell dollars to banks which, in turn, sell most of them to the central bank in the interbank market.

China Daily-Agencies