Central Bank: Average daily bond repurchases in the interbank market of 6.5 trillion yuan in August decreased by 14.8% year-on-year
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 21, central bank data showed that in August 2026, the average daily interbank lending transaction was 316.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 24.6%; the average daily transaction of bond repurchases in the interbank market was 6.5 trillion yuan, a decrease of 14.8% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the unexpired balance of interbank loans was 0.9 trillion yuan, and the unexpired balance of interbank market bond repurchases was 9.6 trillion yuan.
At the end of August 2026, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3986.3 points, up 4.0% month-on-month; the Shenzhen Securities Index closed at 14015.0 points, up 3.2% month-on-month. In August 2026, the average daily turnover of the two markets was 2241.45 billion yuan, a decrease of 16.5% over the previous month.
In August 2026, net financing of government bonds was 1009.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 357.46 billion yuan; net financing of corporate bonds was 271.25 billion yuan, an increase of 137.40 billion yuan over the previous year. At the end of August 2026, the bond market had an escrow balance of 209.0 trillion yuan.
The full text is as follows:
Financial market performance in August 2026
I. The operation of the money market
In August 2026, the average daily transaction of interbank lending was 316.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 24.6%; the average daily transaction of bond repurchases in the interbank market was 6.5 trillion yuan, a decrease of 14.8% year-on-year. At the end of August 2026, the unexpired balance of interbank loans was 0.9 trillion yuan, and the unexpired balance of interbank market bond repurchases was 9.6 trillion yuan.
In August 2026, the monthly weighted average interest rate for overnight pledged repurchases (DR001) of interest rate bonds between banking sector deposit-type financial institutions was 1.38%, down 1 basis point from month to month; the weighted average interest rate for DR007 was 1.40%, down 3 basis points from month to month; and the monthly weighted average interest rate for overnight pledged repurchases (R001) in the interbank market was 1.40%, down 2 basis points from month to month. In August 2026, the average daily interest rate spread between DR001 and the central bank's 7-day reverse repurchase operation interest rate was -2 basis points, and the average daily spread between R001 and DR001 was 2 basis points.
Figure 1. Interest rate trends in the money market
Figure 2 DR001 and central bank policy interest rate from January to August 2026
II. The operation of the bond market
In August 2026, net financing of government bonds was 1009.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 357.46 billion yuan; net financing of corporate bonds was 271.25 billion yuan, an increase of 137.40 billion yuan over the previous year. At the end of August 2026, the bond market had an escrow balance of 209.0 trillion yuan.
In August 2026, the cash market turnover was 39.2 trillion yuan, up 4.8% year on year; the interbank bond market cash turnover rate was 18.3%, down 0.9 percentage points from month to month; and the trading price spread for active 10-year treasury bonds was 0.15 basis points. At the end of August 2026, the yield on 10-year treasury bonds was 1.69%; the yield spread between 10-year and 1-year treasury bonds was 47 basis points, narrowing by 10 basis points from month to month; the spread between 3-year AAA medium-term note yields and 3-year treasury bond yields was 43 basis points (not excluding bond tax policy factors), widening 3 basis points from month to month. In the first eight months of 2026, panda bonds totaled 213.98 billion yuan, and 29 additional overseas institutions entered the interbank bond market.
Figure 3 Treasury bond yield trends
Figure 4 Changes in the treasury bond yield curve in August 2026
III. The operation of the derivatives market
In August 2026, the interbank RMB derivatives market turnover was 6.9 trillion yuan, an increase of 17.0% over the previous 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 from month to month.
In August 2026, the treasury bond futures market turnover was 11.9 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.0% over the previous year. At the end of August 2026, treasury bond futures holdings were 896,000 lots, an increase of 62.0% over the previous year; the closing price of the main 10-year treasury bond futures contract was 109.4 yuan, which was basically the same from month to month.
IV. The operation of the bill market
In August 2026, commercial bill acceptance accrued an amount of 3.4 trillion yuan, and a discount accrued amount of 2.5 trillion yuan. At the end of August 2026, the commercial money order acceptance balance 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.
5. Operation of the gold market
At the end of August 2026, the Shanghai Gold Exchange Au (T+D) contract closed at 961.1 yuan per gram, up 8.6% from the previous month. In August 2026, the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded 6707.3 tons of gold, an increase of 66.9% over the previous year; the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded 17,000 tons of gold, an increase of 71.5% over the previous year.
6. The operation of the foreign exchange market
At the end of August 2026, the closing price of the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market was 6.7198, up 0.41% from the end of the previous month. The China Foreign Exchange Trading Center (CFETS) RMB Exchange Rate Index was 101.87, down 0.31% from the end of the previous month.
7. Stock Market Operation
At the end of August 2026, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3986.3 points, up 4.0% month-on-month; the Shenzhen Securities Index closed at 14015.0 points, up 3.2% month-on-month. In August 2026, the average daily turnover of the two markets was 2241.45 billion yuan, a decrease of 16.5% over the previous month.
8. The structure of holders in the interbank bond market
At the end of August 2026, there were 3,751 corporate members in the interbank bond market, all financial institutions. Looking at the size of debt holdings, the top 50 investors in corporate credit bonds held 54.2%, mainly in large state-owned commercial banks (proprietary), public funds (asset management), trust companies (asset management), etc.; the top 200 investors held 85.3% of the debt.
In August 2026, in terms of transaction scale, according to statistics from legal entities, the top 50 investors in the interbank bond market accounted for 62.3% of transactions, mainly in securities companies (proprietary), joint-stock commercial banks (proprietary), and fund companies (asset management). The top 200 investors accounted for 91.9% of transactions.
This article was selected from “Central Bank Official Website”; Zhitong Finance Editor: Huang Xiaodong.