MNI China Daily Summary: Monday, August 8

LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected CNY2 billion via 7-day reverse repos with the rate unchanged at 2.1%. This keeps liquidity unchanged after offsetting the maturity of CNY2 billion repos today, according to Wind Information. The operation aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample, the PBOC said on its website.

RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) decreased to 1.2852% from 1.2963% on Friday, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average fell to 1.0133% from the previous 1.0172%.

YUAN: The currency weakened to 6.7602 against the dollar from 6.7507 on Friday. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 6.7695 on Monday, compared with 6.7405 set on Friday.

BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 2.7380%, up from the previous close of 2.7350%, according to Wind Information.

STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.31% to 3,236.93 while the CSI300 index edged down 0.21% to 4,148.07. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.77% to 20,045.77.

FROM THE PRESS: China’s exports are expected to maintain a high rate of growth in Q3, while imports recover further, the China Securities Journal reported following July's trade data. China’s low-priced industrial products are seizing greater global market share, with high inflation overseas putting the wider global manufacturing sector under pressure. The significant increase in exports to the EU, influenced by tight energy supply, provided a key boost to exports in July, the newspaper said, citing Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating. External demand is still robust, especially when it comes to automobiles and clothing, and the adverse impact of overseas interest rate hikes is not yet obvious in the data, the newspaper said, citing analysts.

China’s foreign exchange reserves will remain stable, supported by the steady recovery of the Chinese economy and a likely rise in the U.S. dollar index, alongside a move higher in U.S. and European bond prices, the China Securities Journal reported, citing analysts. China’s FX reserves rose by USD32.8 billion to USD3.1 trillion at the end of July, marking the largest monthly increase since January 2021. Bond yields across the major economies fell in July amid a further weakening of expectations surrounding broader economic growth, while major stock markets rebounded from previous lows. These factors combined to push up China’s FX reserves, the newspaper said, citing Wen Bin, chief economist at Minsheng Bank. China's balance of payments surplus also drove up reserves slightly, Wen added.

Over 80,000 tourists are stranded in the popular resort city of Sanya on China’s tropical Hainan island after the city announced a temporary lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, Quanshang China, the WeChat account of Securities Times, reported late Sunday. Hainan province has reported a total 1,140 positive COVID cases, including 827 confirmed cases and 313 asymptomatic patients, since Aug. 1, the provincial government said in a Sunday press conference. Hainan rolled out widespread nucleic acid testing on Sunday, as this round of the pandemic spilled over to four other provinces, the newspaper noted.