China stands pat on rates after Fed lifts benchmark

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's central bank left interest rates for open market operations unchanged on Thursday, despite its U.S. counterpart increasing its key policy rate overnight. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) did not explain its rationale for keeping rates unchanged, but the yuan currency is on steadier footing and domestic liquidity conditions are much tighter than they were in mid-March, when it followed a Fed hike within hours. Markets had been divided over whether the PBOC would raise short-term rates again in lockstep with the Fed, with those in the "hold" camp noting that China's short-term money rates and bond yields had already been trending higher. Commodity Trading Tips

Earlier on Thursday, the PBOC injected a net 90 billion yuan ($13.25 billion) into the financial system via open market operations, saying it was doing so to counter "liquidity stress" from seasonal tax payments and maturing reverse repurchase agreements.The rate for seven-day reverse repos remained at 2.45 percent, the 14-day tenor at 2.60 percent and the 28-day tenor at 2.75 percent, the PBOC said in a statement on its website. China's benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates have remained unchanged since October 2015. Nifty Trading Tips