China central bank skips reverse repos as RRR cut unleashes liquidity

BEIJING - China's central bank on Monday skipped open market operations as a lower reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks takes effect.

The move to cut the RRR by 50 basis points will inject around 800 billion yuan ($113.22 billion) into the market, which will absorb impacts from factors including maturing reverse repos, the People's Bank of China said on its website.

On Monday, 160 billion yuan of reverse repos matured.

A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

China will keep its prudent monetary policy "neither too tight nor too loose" while maintaining market liquidity at a reasonably ample level in 2019.