Beijing, Feb 18 (IANS): China's central bank pumped cash into the financial system through open market operations on Thursday to maintain liquidity in the market.

A total of 200 billion yuan (about $31 billion) was injected into the market via medium-term lending facility (MLF), according to the People's Bank of China, the central bank, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The funds will mature in one year at an interest rate of 2.95 per cent. The operation included a rollover of MLF funds that matured on Thursday, the central bank said.

Meanwhile, the central bank injected 20 billion yuan into the market through seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.2 per cent.

The move was intended to maintain reasonable and ample liquidity in the banking system, the central bank said.

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.

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

China's central bank has pledged to make its prudent monetary policy more targeted and flexible to adapt better to the needs of high-quality development and put more focus on the efficiency of financial services to support the real economy.