China’s central bank plans to intervene directly in bond markets in a sign of officials’ growing discomfort with a rally that has pushed borrowing costs to the lowest level in two decades. The People’s Bank of China said on Monday it would “borrow sovereign bonds from primary traders in the open market in the near future”. The decision was made on “prudent observation and evaluations of current market situations” in order to “maintain the stable operation of the bond market”.
“The Chinese government is on track to significantly increase the sale of its sovereign bonds in the coming years,” he added. The yields on China’s 10- and 30-year government bonds rose following the statement, to 2.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. Bond yields rise as prices fall. Chinese regulators are alarmed by the frenzy for sovereign bonds.