BEIJING, Nov. 4 -- China's current account surplus accounted for 2.5 percent of GDP in the third quarter of 2016, remaining below "a reasonable level" of 4 percent, a statement from the foreign exchange regulator said Friday.

In the third quarter, the current account surplus rose 11 percent from the second quarter to 71.2 billion U.S. dollars, according to preliminary data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Goods trade surplus, major contributor to the current account surplus, rose 9 percent from the previous quarter to 137 billion U.S. dollars due to slight recovery in overseas and domestic demand.

Deficit in service trade widened 25 percent to 69.5 billion U.S. dollars in the same period, the statement said.

China's current account has witnessed a surplus for 22 consecutive years, mainly due to strong exports in manufactured goods. The proportion of the surplus to China's GDP reached a peak of 10 percent in 2007.