PBOC: Average Daily Bond Repo Trading in the Interbank Market in August Was 6.5 Trillion Yuan, Down 14.8% Year-on-Year

On September 21, central bank data showed that in August 2026, average daily interbank lending turnover was 316.06 billion yuan, down 24.6% year-on-year; average daily bond repo trading in the interbank market was 6.5 trillion yuan, down 14.8% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the outstanding balance of interbank lending was 0.9 trillion yuan, and the outstanding balance of bond repos in the interbank market was 9.6 trillion yuan. At the end of August 2026, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,986.3 points, up 4.0% month-on-month; the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 14,015.0 points, up 3.2% month-on-month. In August 2026, the average daily turnover of the two markets was 2,241.45 billion yuan, down 16.5% month-on-month. In August 2026, net financing of government bonds was 1,009.73 billion yuan, down 357.46 billion yuan year-on-year; net financing of corporate bonds was 271.25 billion yuan, up 137.40 billion yuan year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the custody balance of the bond market was 209.0 trillion yuan. The full text is as follows: Financial Market Operation in August 2026 I. Money Market Operation In August 2026, average daily interbank lending turnover was 316.06 billion yuan, down 24.6% year-on-year; average daily bond repo trading in the interbank market was 6.5 trillion yuan, down 14.8% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the outstanding balance of interbank lending was 0.9 trillion yuan, and the outstanding balance of bond repos in the interbank market was 9.6 trillion yuan. In August 2026, the monthly weighted average interest rate of overnight pledged repo of interest rate bonds among banking depository financial institutions (DR001) was 1.38%, down 1 basis point month-on-month; the monthly weighted average interest rate of DR007 was 1.40%, down 3 basis points month-on-month; the monthly weighted average interest rate of overnight pledged repo in the interbank market (R001) was 1.40%, down 2 basis points month-on-month. In August 2026, the daily average spread between DR001 and the interest rate of the central bank's 7-day reverse repo operation in open market operations was -2 basis points, and the daily average spread between R001 and DR001 was 2 basis points. Figure 1 Money Market Interest Rate Trend Figure 2 DR001 and Central Bank Policy Rate, January-August 2026 II. Bond Market Operation In August 2026, net financing of government bonds was 1,009.73 billion yuan, down 357.46 billion yuan year-on-year; net financing of corporate bonds was 271.25 billion yuan, up 137.40 billion yuan year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the custody balance of the bond market was 209.0 trillion yuan. In August 2026, the turnover of the cash bond market was 39.2 trillion yuan, up 4.8% year-on-year; the turnover rate of cash bonds in the interbank bond market was 18.3%, down 0.9 percentage points month-on-month; the bid-ask spread of the active 10-year government bond was 0.15 basis points. At the end of August 2026, the yield of the 10-year government bond was 1.69%; the yield spread between the 10-year and 1-year government bonds was 47 basis points, narrowed by 10 basis points month-on-month; the spread between the yield of 3-year AAA-rated medium-term notes and the yield of 3-year government bonds was 43 basis points (without excluding bond tax policy factors), widened by 3 basis points month-on-month. In the first eight months of 2026, cumulative issuance of panda bonds was 213.98 billion yuan, and 29 new overseas institutions entered the interbank bond market. Figure 3 Government Bond Yield Trend Figure 4 Changes in the Government Bond Yield Curve in August 2026 III. Derivatives Market Operation In August 2026, the turnover of the RMB derivatives market in the interbank market was 6.9 trillion yuan, up 17.0% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the closing price (average) of the 1-year FR007 swap rate was 1.43%, down 1 basis point month-on-month. In August 2026, the turnover of the government bond futures market was 11.9 trillion yuan, up 12.0% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the open interest of government bond futures was 896,000 lots, up 62.0% year-on-year; the closing price of the main contract of 10-year government bond futures was 109.4 yuan, basically flat month-on-month. IV. Commercial Paper Market Operation In August 2026, the acceptance amount of commercial bills was 3.4 trillion yuan, and the discount amount was 2.5 trillion yuan. At the end of August 2026, the acceptance balance of commercial bills was 22.3 trillion yuan, up 10.3% year-on-year; the discount balance was 17.8 trillion yuan, up 13.3% year-on-year. V. Gold Market Operation At the end of August 2026, the Au (T+D) contract on the Shanghai Gold Exchange closed at 961.1 yuan per gram, up 8.6% month-on-month. In August 2026, gold trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 6,707.3 tons, up 66.9% year-on-year; gold trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 17,000 tons, up 71.5% year-on-year. VI. Foreign Exchange Market Operation At the end of August 2026, the closing price of the RMB against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market was 6.7198, appreciating 0.41% from the end of the previous month, and the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) RMB exchange rate index was 101.87, depreciating 0.31% from the end of the previous month. VII. Stock Market Operation At the end of August 2026, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,986.3 points, up 4.0% month-on-month; the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 14,015.0 points, up 3.2% month-on-month. In August 2026, the average daily turnover of the two markets was 2,241.45 billion yuan, down 16.5% month-on-month. VIII. Holder Structure of the Interbank Bond Market At the end of August 2026, there were 3,751 institutional members in the interbank bond market, all of which were financial institutions. From the perspective of bond holdings, the top 50 investors in corporate credit bonds held 54.2%, mainly concentrated in large state-owned commercial banks (proprietary trading), public funds (asset management), trust companies (asset management), etc.; the top 200 investors held 85.3%. In August 2026, from the perspective of trading scale, according to statistics by legal entity institutions, the top 50 investors in corporate credit bonds in the interbank bond market accounted for 62.3% of trading, mainly concentrated in securities companies (proprietary trading), joint-stock commercial banks (proprietary trading), fund companies (asset management), and the top 200 investors accounted for 91.9% of trading. This article was compiled from the "Official Website of the Central Bank"; GMTEight editor: Huang Xiaodong.