China rejects new curbs to tighten control of cross-border capital, although outflow pressure surged suddenly last month, the foreign exchange regulator said on Thursday.

Foreign exchange settlement by Chinese banks reached an eighth consecutive month of deficits in March, rising to a record-high $66 billion, up from $17.2 billion in February and $8.2 billion in January, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said. In the first three months of the year, the total deficit rose by 97 percent from the fourth quarter of last year.

The figures suggest sharply increased capital outflow pressure recently, with the trade surplus dropping sharply to a 13-month low of $3.08 billion last month, down from $60.6 billion in February.