China Drains Cash From Economy in Rare Move During Oil Shock

China’s central bank withdrew cash from its financial system for the first time in a year, a cautious signal that keeps its policy options open as higher oil prices filter through the economy.

The People’s Bank of China drained a total of 890 billion yuan ($129 billion) worth of liquidity via short-term open market operations in March and soaked up another 250 billion yuan through longer-term tools including outright reverse repurchase agreements and medium-term lending facility.