The Cash Crunch Is Baaack

Bloomberg: Double Blow for China Banks as Fed Worry Meets June Cash Crunch

Shanghai’s money market is braced for higher borrowing costs as a credit-fueled economic recovery coincides with the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates in June, a month that has historically seen funding crunches in China.

The overnight interbank lending rate averaged 1.99 percent in May, up from 1.18 percent a year ago, as Federal Reserve tightening weakened the yuan, spurring capital outflow pressures. That borrowing cost has climbed every June since 2011, as lenders hoard deposits ahead of quarter-end regulatory checks. The cost of fixing rates in the swap market is surging as data showed property leading a rebound in investment in the world’s second-biggest economy.

“The internal and external factors combined will certainly add pressure to the money market in June, driving interest rates higher,” said Liu Dongliang, a Shenzhen-based senior analyst at China Merchants Bank Co., the nation’s sixth-largest lender. “We’re not optimistic about the bond market in the short term.”

Bloomberg: China Futures Exchange Says Client’s Hedging Caused Flash Crash

Contracts on the CSI 300 Index due in June dropped by the 10 percent daily limit at 10:42 a.m. local time before recovering almost all of their losses in the same minute. The sudden drop was triggered by the unidentified trader’s order for 398 contracts at current market prices. They were filled consecutively, which prompted the broader selloff, the futures exchange said in a statement.

...“Liquidity in the market is really thin at the moment,” Fang Shisheng, Shanghai-based vice general manager at Orient Securities Futures Co., said by phone. “So the market will very likely see big swings if a big order comes in.”