BEIJING-- Chinese banks saw $36.4 billion of net foreign exchange sales in March, up slightly from February but still markedly lower than the previous two months, official data showed Thursday.

Chinese lenders bought $117.7 billion worth of foreign currency last month and sold $154 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement.

The data marks the ninth-straight month of deficit and was higher than the $33.9 billion recorded in February. However, it has narrowed from the $54.4 billion seen in January and $89.4 billion in December.

The figures shows that the pressure of cross-border capital outflows has been gradually eased, SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying told a press conference on Thursday.

In the first quarter, banks registered $124.8 billion of net forex sales, according to the SAFE.