China's current account surplus doubles

China’s current account surplus for the third quarter more than doubled year-on-year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced in a statement that the surplus hit US$102.3 billion in Q3. As a percentage of GDP the surplus rose to 7.2% from 5.5% in the second quarter. The new figures demonstrate that the economy remains export-driven and, in the view of some economists, imbalanced. A growing surplus as a percentage of GDP also indicates that the currency is undervalued, and will likely increase pressure on China to allow the renminbi to appreciate at a faster rate. Officials also announced that the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose US$194 billion to US$2.648 trillion in the third quarter.