China's Central Bank To Pump 140 Bln Yuan Into Economy In Fresh Easing Bid

The People's Bank of China moved to ease the economy further on Wednesday, saying it will inject 140 billion yuan ($21.80 billion) into the financial system through a short-term liquidity adjustment (SLO) operation. The SLO loans come with a 2.3% interest rate. Short-term liquidity operations were launched by the PBOC in 2013 to reduce fluctuations in liquidity and stabilize interbank funding costs. Wednesday's move comes a day after the Chinese central bank cut its benchmark interest rates and lowered the reserve-requirement ratio for banks in the wake of recent stock-market turmoil in the country. However, Tuesday's interest-rate cuts failed to revive the Chinese equity market, with the Shanghai Composite Index closing 1.3% lower.