China financial markets show increased activity in May

China's money market saw robust activity in May 2026, with average daily interbank lending turnover reaching RMB417.28 billion, up 18.5 percent year-on-year.

Bond repos averaged RMB7.4 trillion per day, an 8.1 percent increase.

Key money market rates showed minor shifts: DR001, the overnight repo rate, recorded a monthly weighted average of 1.28 percent, up 5 basis points month-on-month, while DR007 was largely unchanged at 1.35 percent.

The bond market also expanded, with outstanding bonds in custody reaching RMB202.6 trillion.

Net financing via government-issued bonds stood at RMB1,223.55 billion, a decrease of RMB234.98 billion year-on-year.

Cash bond transactions totaled RMB36.7 trillion, rising 8.8 percent.

The yield on 10-year China government bonds (CGBs) was 1.71 percent, and the yield spread between 10-year and 1-year CGBs narrowed by 3 basis points to 55 basis points.

The derivatives market saw RMB derivatives trading in the interbank market total RMB5.0 trillion, up 18.6 percent year-on-year.

CGB futures turnover reached RMB9.9 trillion, increasing by 29.4 percent.

In the bill market, commercial drafts accepted totaled RMB4.4 trillion and discounted RMB3.7 trillion.

Outstanding balances of accepted and discounted drafts rose by 9.8 percent and 13.1 percent respectively year-on-year, with MSMEs accounting for 73.9 percent of total bill issuance.

The foreign exchange market saw the RMB appreciate by 0.96 percent against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/CNY exchange rate closing at 6.7685. The stock market showed mixed performance, with the SSE Composite Index down 1.1 percent and the SZSE Component Index up 3.1 percent.

Average daily turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges surged by 35.8 percent month-on-month to RMB3,182.49 billion.