BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange market remained generally stable in March despite global financial market volatility triggered by geopolitical conflicts, with balanced supply and demand and steady market expectations, official data showed Wednesday.

Foreign exchange settlements by banks totaled 273.6 billion U.S. dollars in March, and sales came in at 257.6 billion dollars, resulting in a surplus of 16 billion dollars, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The surplus was down 63 percent from February, said Li Bin, a spokesperson for the administration.

He noted that market entities including enterprises showed rational trading patterns, with both settlement and purchase rates rising steadily from the previous month.

In March, cross-border receipts and payments by non-banking sectors totaled 823.9 billion dollars and 855.9 billion dollars, respectively, the administration said.

By major channel, trade in goods maintained net inflows, direct investment remained relatively stable, while securities investment saw some fluctuations due to changes in international markets but has gradually stabilized since April, according to Li.

Overall, China's economy got off to a good start this year, with foreign-related economic activities developing soundly, said the spokesperson, highlighting overall balance in forex supply and demand as well as stable market expectations. ■