China's central bank Wednesday injected 383 billion yuan ($55.5 billion) into the market via the medium-term lending facility (MLF) to maintain liquidity.

The funds will mature in one year with an interest rate of 3.3 percent, unchanged from previous operations. The MLF injection came as 336.5 billion yuan of such loans matured Wednesday.

The MLF tool was introduced in 2014 to help commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank using securities as collateral.

On Wednesday, the People's Bank of China (PBC) suspended reverse repo operations for the 19th consecutive trading day.

The country vowed to maintain control over the floodgates of monetary supply and keep liquidity at a reasonable and ample level, according to a statement issued after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee last month.

The PBC increasingly relies on open-market operations, rather than changes in interest rates or reserve requirement ratios, to manage liquidity in a more flexible and targeted manner.

China will maintain a prudent and neutral monetary policy in 2018 as it strives to balance growth and risk prevention.

Cover photo: Xinhua