China's central bank unexpectedly cuts reverse repo rates by 20 bp to support economy

China's central bank unexpectedly lowered the interest rate on reverse repurchase agreements by 20 basis points on Monday, as authorities stepped up easing measures to relieve pressure on the economy that has been hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website that it was lowering the 7-day reverse repo rate to 2.20% from 2.40%.

On Monday, the PBOC injected 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) into money markets through seven-day reverse repos, breaking a hiatus of 29 trading days with no fresh fund injections via the liquidity tool. ($1 = 7.0942 Chinese yuan)