China financial markets see mixed performance in March

China's money market saw significant activity in March 2026, with interbank lending recording an average daily turnover of RMB450.77 billion, a 54.6 percent year-on-year increase.

Bond repos in the interbank market also surged, with an average daily turnover of RMB8.2 trillion, up 38.6 percent year-on-year.

Key money market rates generally eased; DR001, the overnight repo rate for depository institutions, fell by 2 basis points month-on-month to 1.31 percent, while DR007 decreased by 5 basis points to 1.44 percent.

In the bond market, net financing via government-issued bonds decreased by RMB320.82 billion year-on-year, totaling RMB1,165.78 billion.

Conversely, enterprise bond issuances saw a net increase of RMB481.42 billion year-on-year, raising RMB390.97 billion.

At the end of March, outstanding bonds in custody reached RMB200.0 trillion, with overseas institutions holding RMB3.2 trillion, or 1.6 percent of this total.

The yield on 10-year China government bonds stood at 1.82 percent.

The derivatives market experienced robust growth, with RMB derivatives trading in the interbank market reaching RMB8.5 trillion, an 89.7 percent increase year-on-year.

Conversely, CGB futures trading declined by 13.4 percent to RMB7.1 trillion.

In the bill market, commercial drafts accepted totaled RMB3.5 trillion, and discounted drafts amounted to RMB2.7 trillion.

Outstanding balances for both categories rose over 6 percent year-on-year.

The gold market presented a mixed picture: the Au(T+D) contract price fell 11.1 percent month-on-month, though Shanghai Futures Exchange gold trading volume increased 8.8 percent year-on-year.

In foreign exchange, the RMB depreciated 0.76 percent against the U.S. dollar, closing at 6.9081. China's stock markets experienced declines, with the SSE Composite Index falling 6.5 percent and the SZSE Component Index dropping 7.0 percent month-on-month.