Briefly

PBOC adds liquidity via reverse repos

China's central bank conducted 760 billion yuan ($106.84 billion) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent on Tuesday. The move aims to offset the impact of the tax season and keep liquidity in the banking system reasonable and ample, the People's Bank of China said in a statement. A reverse repo is a process by which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

Zhejiang sees surging power consumption

Zhejiang province, an economic powerhouse in East China, saw a 6.78 percent year-on-year increase in electricity consumption in 2023, signaling positive momentum in its economic growth. The province's power usage reached 619.2 billion kilowatt-hours last year, with manufacturing taking up about 345 billion kWh, a yearly rise of 8.74 percent, said State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co Ltd. Among the 31 manufacturing subsectors, 29 saw positive growth in power usage, represented by high-tech and high-value-added sectors such as photovoltaic equipment production. Meanwhile, some high energy-consuming industries, like aluminum smelting, saw falling power usage.

Xinhua - China Daily