SHANGHAI: China's money rates were mixed on Wednesday, as short-term tenors held flat on expectations the central bank would inject funds into the market via open market operations, but longer-term rates rose sharply due to cash demand over the year-end.
The 14-day repo rate jumped 50.27 basis points to 4.2880 percent from 3.7853 percent, hitting the highest level since end-October.
But shorter rates remained steady after the People's Bank of China's 75 billion yuan injection into the interbank market on Tuesday virtually guaranteed a weekly net injection of funds.
With total maturing bills and reverse repos set to drain a net 76 billion yuan this week, the central bank would only need to make a small injection on Thursday to bring the weekly injection of funds above that level.
"The 14-day reverse repo should attract strong appetite due to the year-end spike in cash demand, so a net injection is pretty certain," said a dealer at a Chinese commercial bank in Shanghai.
The benchmark weighted-average seven-day bond repurchase rate inched up 3.61 basis points to 3.0419 percent from 3.0058 percent at the close on Tuesday, and the one-day repo rate was virtually flat at 2.2913 percent from 2.2903 percent.
Though traders say year-end factors affecting liquidity - such as corporate and household cash withdrawals to pay for bonuses and holiday shopping - can be difficult to predict, one dealer said money conditions should remain ample as there are no expectations of tightening monetary policy.
Indeed, according to a central bank survey, a growing number of bankers are expecting monetary policy to ease in the first quarter of 2013.
Center>Copyright Reuters, 2012
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