On August 24, the central bank released its financial market report for July 2026, which revealed a notable contraction in key interbank trading activities.

According to the data, the daily average trading volume in the interbank lending market reached 323.29 billion yuan in July 2026, marking a significant year-on-year decline of 24.3%. Similarly, the daily average volume of bond repurchase agreements in the interbank market amounted to 6.5 trillion yuan, down 14.2% compared to the same period last year.

As of the end of July 2026, the outstanding balance of interbank lending stood at 1.0 trillion yuan, while the outstanding balance of bond repurchase agreements in the interbank market was recorded at 9.8 trillion yuan.

Interest rate movements during the month showed mixed trends across different metrics. The monthly weighted average rate for overnight pledged repos involving interest rate bonds between banking deposit-taking institutions (DR001) was 1.39%, reflecting an increase of 1 basis point month-on-month. Meanwhile, the DR007 rate averaged 1.43%, down 2 basis points from the previous month. The overnight pledged repo rate across the broader interbank market (R001) averaged 1.42%, remaining essentially flat on a monthly basis.

In terms of rate differentials, the average daily spread between DR001 and the central bank's 7-day reverse repurchase operation rate stood at -1 basis point during July 2026. Additionally, the average daily spread between R001 and DR001 was recorded at 3 basis points, providing insight into the relative liquidity conditions across different market segments.