--- title: "Market interest rates probe new lows for the year, with loose funds driving flexible and reduced volume of buyout reverse repurchase operations" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/281632466.md" description: "On April 3rd, the central bank announced the implementation of an 800 billion yuan 3-month term reverse repurchase operation, netting a withdrawal of 300 billion yuan. This operation aligns with market expectations, as the liquidity in the banking system is loose, and financial institutions' demand for central bank funds has declined. Market interest rates remain at a low of 1.2%, with the overnight rate DR001 dropping to 1.23%, setting a new low for the year. Experts point out that the decline in financial institutions' demand for liquidity and the reduction in operations are anticipated, with the 3-month term reverse repurchase primarily addressing seasonal factors" datetime: "2026-04-03T11:23:11.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281632466.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281632466.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281632466.md) --- # Market interest rates probe new lows for the year, with loose funds driving flexible and reduced volume of buyout reverse repurchase operations ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OS5otTzmjaC2g_pAB0dMkqOcwZSzSQ1uRCA_C-i4i8LH0AA/1000?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) On April 3rd, the central bank announced that it would conduct a 800 billion yuan 3-month reverse repurchase operation. With 1.1 trillion yuan maturing that month, this operation achieved a net withdrawal of 300 billion yuan. This reduction in operations aligns with market expectations, reflecting the current continuous easing of liquidity in the banking system, with financial institutions' demand for central bank funds significantly declining. Recently, the funding environment has remained loose, with market interest rates maintaining a low level close to 1.2%. After the Spring Festival, cash has flowed back to banks, coupled with concentrated fiscal expenditures at the end of the quarter, leading to generally ample funds for financial institutions since April, causing market interest rates to continue to decline. Data shows that on April 3rd, the overnight rate DR001 dropped to around 1.23%, reaching the lowest level of the year; the issuance rate of 1-year interbank certificates of deposit by state-owned banks fell below 1.50%, setting a historical low. Market experts indicate that against this backdrop, the demand for central bank liquidity from financial institutions has decreased, and the reduction in tools is also within expectations. The 3-month reverse repurchase operation mainly addresses seasonal factors. Looking at previous years' first quarters, the impact of cash injection and withdrawal around the Spring Festival is significant, with high demand for 3-month reverse repos in January and February before the festival, and a historical decline in demand after April. For example, in January 2025, the 3-month reverse repurchase operation was 1.2 trillion yuan, and when it matured in April, it was rolled over by 700 billion yuan, a reduction of 500 billion yuan. This year's operational rhythm is basically consistent with last year, with both tightening and loosening, being flexible and precise. Although this reverse repurchase operation shows a net withdrawal, looking at the overall first quarter, there has still been an incremental injection of 300 billion yuan since the beginning of the year, bringing the balance to 6.8 trillion yuan. Currently, the central bank's open market operations mainly include daily 7-day reverse repos, as well as 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year varieties on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of each month. The 7-day reverse repos fully meet the short-term funding needs of primary dealers, and in recent days, there have been consecutive "low-volume" operations. The aforementioned experts emphasize that the market should pay more attention to price signals rather than the quantity of operations themselves. The central bank's monetary policy operations directly affect the quantity of base money, also known as banking system liquidity, which refers to the reserves of commercial banks at the central bank, and is different from the concept of "liquidity" related to the amount of cash in residents' hands and the ease of asset liquidation. The supply and demand factors of banking system liquidity are complex, involving fiscal revenues and expenditures, cash in circulation, behaviors of financial institutions, and various seasonal factors. The daily operational volume of the central bank does not represent a change in monetary policy orientation and has no corresponding relationship with the tightening or loosening of monetary policy. The expert further stated that these factors ultimately affect market interest rates by influencing the supply and demand relationship of liquidity, with the overnight rate being the most active and sensitive indicator In January of this year, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Zou Lan clearly stated at a press conference that the goal of open market operations is to guide the overnight interest rate to operate near the policy interest rate level, which also provides a more scientific method for the market to observe liquidity conditions. 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