BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China saw a current account deficit in the first quarter of 2018 due to seasonal factors and rapid growth in goods imports.

The deficit in the current account stood at 28.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months, in contrast with a 18.4 billion U.S. dollars surplus in the same period a year ago, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in an online statement.

China's service trade posted a deficit of 76.2 billion U.S. dollars, up from around 60 billion dollars a year earlier.

The goods trade saw a 35-percent decline in surplus, with imports up 21 percent year-on-year and exports up 11 percent.

"Faster imports growth pushed China's goods trade to a more balanced level," SAFE said, adding that the current account balance would stay in a reasonable range.

As a major global consumer market, China has been striving to boost imports and improve its trade structure, rolling out measures to simplify customs procedures and include more products in its tariff-reduction list.

SAFE data also showed cross-border capital inflows from the January-March period. The financial account has maintained net inflows from the second quarter last year, with a surplus of 54.5 billion U.S. dollars. Foreign direct investment more than doubled to 68.2 billion dollars.