PBOC cash injections surge to record $60 billion before Lunar New Year holidays

The Chinese central bank (PBOC) injected a record amount of funds into the financial system on increased demand for cash surges ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays starting next week, Bloomberg reports.

The PBOC pumped a net 410 billion yuan ($60 billion) through open-market operations (OMOs) on Wednesday, the biggest daily addition since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2004. That brings the total injections so far this week to 845 billion yuan.

Bloomberg notes, “Demand for cash tends to increase before the Lunar New Year holidays, when households withdraw money to pay for gifts and get-togethers.”