PBOC skips open market operations

The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, skipped open market operations for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, citing abundant liquidity. As reverse repos worth 70 billion yuan ($10.3 billion) matured on Thursday, the PBOC effectively withdrew the same amount of funds from financial institutions. “Liquidity in the banking system is at a relatively high level,” a central bank statement said. Reverse repos involve the central bank purchasing securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future. China will keep its monetary policy “neither too tight nor too loose” while maintaining market liquidity at a reasonably ample level in 2019, according to the annual Central Economic Work Conference held last month.