Financial and economic news The US stock market was closed for Christmas on Wednesday. On the same day, December 25, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) kept the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate at 2%.
The decision was in line with the forecasts of most economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
In addition, the PBoC withdrew a net 1.15 trillion yuan (about $158 billion) from the financial system through the MLF tool, the highest net withdrawal since 2014.
On the same day, an official document from the Chinese government allowed localities to use special bonds to invest in eligible projects.
However, these projects are not included in the State Council's banned list, which includes non-profit projects, government buildings, commercial real estate and lavish works such as large-scale sculptures.
This is seen as a signal to encourage localities to use special bonds to promote economic growth.
These economic and financial stimulus measures have also supported positive sentiment in the crude oil market. In the US, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that commercial crude oil inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels last week.
If official government data confirms it on Thursday, it would be the fifth straight week of declines in crude inventories. It is common for national crude inventories to fall in December, before rising in the first months of the following year. Stay tuned. HVA to update and grasp the fastest information about the financial market every day.
