MNI China Daily Summary: Tuesday, December 23

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY59.3 billion via seven-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.40%. The operation led to a net drain of CNY76 billion after offsetting maturities of CNY135.3 billion, according to Wind Information.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) decreased to 1.4105% from 1.4337%, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average edged down to 1.2691% from 1.2705%.

YUAN: The currency strengthened to 7.0287 against the dollar from the previous 7.0382. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate lower at 7.0523, compared with 7.0572 set on Monday. The fixing was estimated at 7.0296 by Bloomberg survey.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.8315%, down from the previous close of 1.8350%, according to chinamoney.com.cn. 

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.07% to 3,919.98, while the CSI300 index was up 0.20% at 4,620.73. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.11% at 25,774.14.

FROM THE PRESS: The yuan is expected to further appreciate against the U.S. dollar, and to reach the 6.0 level in the long run, Yicai.com reported. In addition to the falling dollar index following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, increased settlement of foreign exchange before the Spring Festival may accelerate the appreciation of the yuan, which will further encourage the release of pent-up forex settlement demand, the newspaper said, citing analysts. Huang Qifan, former mayor of Chongqing city, recently said that the pair will rise from the current 7.0 level to around 6.0 within the next ten years, which could help to achieve the country's 2035 goal of doubling per capita GDP from 2020.

The PBOC is still likely to cut interest rates and reserve requirement ratios in Q1 2026, given increased downward pressures and a higher comparison base, said Wang Qing, analyst with Golden Credit Rating after the benchmark Loan Prime Rates were kept unchanged on Monday. Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance, said the probability of a RRR cut is greater than that of an interest rate cut, and the PBOC will also place greater emphasis on leveraging structural tools to support technological innovation, green development, and boosting consumption. (Source: Shanghai Securities News)

The Shanghai Futures Exchange adjusted risk control parameters for silver futures on Monday amid a sharp rise in silver prices, after increasing the margin ratio and price limit range earlier this month, Shanghai Securities News reported. The exchange said non-futures company members, overseas special non-broker participants and clients could open a maximum of 10,000 lots in the AG2602 silver futures contract, along with a rise in transaction fees. Increasing needs for hedging against currency devaluation, and the supply-demand gap for the fifth year continued to push silver prices to break historical highs, the newspaper said, citing analysts.