BEIJING — China’s central bank made a net cash injection via open market operations for the third consecutive day on Feb 20 in an effort to ease a cash strain.

The People’s Bank of China conducted 170 billion yuan (about $24.7 billion) of reverse repos, a process by which the central bank purchases securities from banks through bidding with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

The injection saw a net 100 billion yuan pumped into the market on Feb 20, offset by 70 billion yuan in maturing reverse repos.

The operations included seven-day reverse repo priced to yield 2.35 percent, 14-day contracts with a yield of 2.5 percent, and 28-day agreements with a yield of 2.65 percent, according to a central bank statement.

In the interbank market on Feb 20, lending worth 53.5 yuan to financial institutions via the medium-term lending facility is set to mature.

China’s central bank reiterated in a quarterly report on Feb 17 that it would implement a prudent and neutral monetary policy while keeping liquidity stable.

The market has accommodated to the changing scales and yields of bidding, which will help reinforce the function of supply and demand in the determination of value in the future, according to the central bank.

“The central bank did not touch on interest rate rises in its report, which indicated there is no imminent monetary tightening cycle,” said Deng Haiqing, chief economist with JZ Securities.