PBOC's MLF

The PBOC is keeping monetary policy tight, but not too tight.

China central bank pledges policy support as risks to growth rise

China's central bank pledged on Thursday to maintain modest policy support to help the world's second-largest economy weather increasing headwinds in the near term but stressed that it will not flood markets with cash.

Yet at the same time, the central bank also said publicly for the first time that it had pumped 769.5 billion yuan ($125.91 billion) worth of three-month loans into banks via a "medium-term lending facility" (MLF) to keep interest rates low.

The disbursement of loans was slightly more than the 700 billion yuan expected by many in the market and underscored the risks faced by China's economy, where third-quarter growth fell to a low not seen since the 2008/09 global financial crisis.

"During the process of economic adjustment, China will see rising downward pressure in its economy and increasing chances of exposure to potential risks in a certain period of time," the People's Bank of China said.