BEIJING — China's central bank drained 10 billion yuan (about $1.42 billion) from the financial system on Aug 19, with more reverse repos maturing than conducted.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected 20 billion yuan into the market through seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.55 percent, with 30 billion yuan of reverse repos maturing, leading to a net withdrawal of 10 billion yuan.

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

China will keep its prudent monetary policy "neither too tight nor too loose" while maintaining market liquidity at a reasonably ample level in 2019.