China withdraws money from its financial system for the first time in a year

China’s central bank withdrew money from its financial system for the first time in a year, in a cautious signal that would keep its policy options open in light of the impact of high oil prices on the economy.

The central bank (the People’s Bank of China) withdrew a total of 890 billion yuan ($129 billion) of liquidity through short-term open market operations in March and withdrew another 250 billion yuan through long-term mechanisms including direct reverse repurchase agreements, according to Bloomberg News.

In general, commercial banks likely recorded the first net repayment of central bank loans since last May, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data.