BEIJING, Aug. 17 -- China's central bank conducted 168 billion yuan (23.31 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Thursday.

The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system reasonable and ample, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

With 5 billion yuan of seven-day reserve repos maturing Thursday, the central bank injected a net 163 billion yuan in the banking system.

A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.