China money rates mixed as month end approaches

UNDATED, May 29: Chinese money rates were mixed on Wednesday as traders balanced fund injections by the central bank in the interbank market against concerns of a cash crunch at the end of the month.
The weighted average of the benchmark seven-day repo rose by 17 basis points to 3.71 percent around midday, up from 3.54 percent on Tuesday.
The overnight rate, however, fell 30 bps to 3.05 percent from 3.35 percent.
‘The seven-day repo is up because some institutions had borrowed funds last week which are maturing, so there are relatively more people holding seven-day tenors, and then there is borrowing to get funds that will last through the end of the month,’ said a trader at a Beijing bank.
The 14-day rate was almost unchanged from 3.7786 to 3.7802.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is currently on course to inject a net 11 billion yuan ($1.80 billion) for this week, but it could still drain or inject additional funds during upcoming open market operations on Thursday.
The PBOC injected 128 billion yuan into the market last week.
(agencies)