MNI China Daily Summary: Thursday, July 17

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY450.5 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.40%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY360.5 billion after offsetting the maturity of CNY90 reverse repo today, according to Wind Information.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.5223% on Thursday from 1.5291% previously, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average decreased to 1.4635% from the previous 1.4689%.

YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.1796 against the dollar, from 7.1776 at Wednesday's close. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate lower at 7.1461, compared with 7.1526 set on Wednesday. The fixing was estimated at 7.1712 by Bloomberg survey today.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.6610%, up from Wednesday's close of 1.6599%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.37% to 3,516.83, while the CSI300 index rallied 0.68% to 4,034.49. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.08% to 24,498.95.

FROM THE PRESS: China’s national daily power load reached 1.506 billion kilowatts on July 16, breaking above 1.5 billion for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration, citing higher-than-average temperatures and positive economic growth. Power load across the country remains high this week, marking a critical moment for ensuring energy supply, the administration said. In total, 16 provincial-level power grids, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, have seen their power load break records 36 times so far this summer. (Source: Yicai)

Authorities should remove unreasonable restrictions that constrain consumption, work to optimise the consumer goods trade-in scheme and increase diversified supply to match consumers’ needs, according to the State Council executive meeting, presided over by Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday. Authorities should address the irrational competition in the electric vehicle industry, including strengthening cost investigation, price monitoring and product consistency supervision. (Source: China Securities Journal)

China’s milk tea and fruit juice industry has seen intensified price competition in recent weeks, driven by a new round of subsidies and promotional events from platform firms, with some merchants receiving as little as 31% of the retail price per order, Yicai.com reports. Insiders said orders have surged but profits have declined after the event began. On July 15, the Chamber of Commerce in Guizhou Province issued a document calling on takeaway platforms to stop involutional subsidies and unfair competition.