Central bank makes rare use of reverse repos

China's central bank on Thursday used money market methods it hasn't used in a decade to discharge liquidity, postponing the prospect of a further cut in the reserve requirement ratio.

The People's Bank of China bought 20 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) worth of securities from selected banks, with a promise to sell them back 28 days later and charging a rate of 3.6 percent, according to a statement on its website.

It's the first time the central bank has used 28-day reverse repos since December 2002.