Group 1 - Recent domestic money market interest rates have shown a comprehensive upward trend, with short-term rates rising due to tax payments and government bond issuance, while medium to long-term rates are also increasing due to recovering financing demand and a stable stock market [1] - As of August 19, the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) for various terms has increased, with overnight, 1-week, 2-week, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 1-year rates reported at 1.464%, 1.517%, 1.599%, 1.528%, 1.55%, 1.61%, 1.637%, and 1.647%, respectively, showing increases of 14.9, 8.4, 14.3, 0.1, 0.2, 0.1, 0.8, and 0.9 basis points compared to August 12 [1] - The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has a total of 711.8 billion yuan in reverse repos maturing this week, and has already injected 846.8 billion yuan into the market through reverse repos in the first two working days, indicating a likelihood of significant liquidity injection to stabilize short-term rates [1] Group 2 - Future expectations indicate a short-term weak and long-term strong pattern for domestic market interest rates, with the peak period for tax payments ending and the PBOC increasing reverse repo operations, leading to a potential decline in short-term rates [2] - Continuous improvement in financing data and favorable performance in the domestic capital market are expected to increase medium to long-term funding demand, which may strengthen long-term interest rates [2]

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly mention the industry investment rating. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - The attitude towards the bond market remains relatively positive. It is recommended to maintain a medium - to - high duration in the portfolio, appropriately increase leverage to boost short - bond holdings, and seize buying opportunities for long - end bonds during adjustments [3][49]. - Although short - term interest rates are currently weak, as technical factors wane and with the potential for deposit rate cuts and a stable monetary policy, short - and medium - term interest rates are expected to decline, which will support long - term bonds [2][3]. 3. Summary According to the Table of Contents 3.1 Constraints on Short - Term Interest Rates from Some Technical Factors May Weaken in the Future - The weak performance of the 2 - year Treasury bond futures (TS) has restricted short - term interest rates. After the basis repair, the IRR of the CTD bond of the TS2506 contract has dropped, reducing the suppression on futures prices and potentially boosting confidence in short - term bonds [7][12]. - The decline in the central bank's claims on the government in the balance sheet may be due to the maturity of short - term bonds previously purchased or the closing of the previous short - selling long - buying operation. Currently, the impact of this factor is gradually weakening, and large banks have resumed net buying of 1 - 3 - year Treasury bonds [12][15][16]. 3.2 In the Short Term, the Probability of the Funding Rate Remaining Loose but Lower than the Policy Rate is Low, but the Decline in Deposit Rates is Still Expected to Benefit the Short - End - After the RRR cut, the tightening of the funding market was a temporary shock. The average - method assessment of the RRR and the large - scale net payment of government bonds and net withdrawal of reverse repurchase and MLF were the main reasons [17][18][19]. - Although the excess reserve ratio in April was at a low level, the central bank may tolerate a decline in banks' net lending, indicating that it hopes to maintain a loose environment but may not want the funding rate to fall significantly below the policy rate. The decline in deposit rates is conducive to compressing short - and medium - term spreads [25][30]. 3.3 The Weakening of Economic Data in April Indicates Insufficient Demand, and the Fundamental Environment is Still Favorable for the Bond Market - In April, new credit and social financing were both lower than expected. New credit mainly came from government bond issuance, and the decline in new credit may be due to the lack of bank reserve projects after the early - year impulse [34][35][39]. - Despite the slowdown in credit growth, the M2 growth rate increased due to the rise in banks' net lending and bond investment. However, the M1 growth rate declined, indicating limited currency activation [39][42]. - In April, domestic demand declined. Retail sales, investment, and production all showed signs of weakness, indicating that the fundamental environment is favorable for the bond market [44][45][47]. 3.4 The Bond Market is Expected to Continue a Relatively Strong and Volatile Trend - Although the recent Sino - US negotiation has made progress, the impact of short - term export rush is short - term. External demand still faces uncertainties, and domestic demand is insufficient. - The monetary policy is expected to remain in a loose range. If the funding expectation stabilizes, short - and medium - term interest rates are expected to decline, which will support long - term bonds [49].

Report Information - Report Title: "Curve: Can It Flatten After Steepening? — Interest Rate Weekly (Week 2 of May)" [1] - Report Date: May 12, 2025 [2] - Chief Analyst: Yan Ziqi [2] - Research Assistant: Hong Ziyan [2] Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the report Core Views - The current short - end downward movement depends more on the central bank's stance and operations, as well as the decline of funding rates and certificate of deposit rates. If the marginal indicators improve, the short - end downward space may open up [6] - The long - end is likely to oscillate in the short term, and a downward trend requires catalytic factors. The current bond market is favorable, but more catalysts are needed for interest rates to decline. It is advisable to maintain duration and wait for opportunities, and appropriate leverage can be added under the background of falling funding rates [8][9] Summary by Related Catalogs Short - end Interest Rate Analysis - After the double - cut policy was announced last week, the interest rate curve steepened, with the short - end down nearly 5bp and the long - end flat. The central bank's funding rate DR007 dropped significantly to 1.54% on May 9 [2] - Historically, after the reserve requirement ratio cuts were implemented since 2021, the short - end interest rates declined, oscillated, and increased 3, 2, and 3 times respectively. The necessity of short - end decline after reserve requirement ratio cuts may not be high [2] - Currently, non - bank institutions are buying short - term bonds, but large - bank - dominated allocation disks have not entered the market. Banks have been net sellers in recent weeks. However, large banks' funds lending has increased recently, and if the inter - bank certificate of deposit rate further approaches the policy rate, the short - end downward space may open up [4] - The key factor for the short - end to decline further lies in the central bank's stance and operations, as well as the decline of funding rates and certificate of deposit rates [6] Long - end Interest Rate Analysis - This year, the long - term bond has a high probability of short - term oscillation and needs catalytic factors to decline due to factors such as the weakening of broad - money expectations, repeated tariffs, and narrow term spreads [8] - The central bank's Q1 2025 monetary policy implementation report has relatively neutral impacts on the bond market. Although it mentions secondary trading of treasury bonds, new expressions are put forward to prevent interest rate risks [8] - The April inflation data is in line with expectations. The core CPI maintains a 0.5% positive growth. The real interest rate is close to the historical lower quartile, but the further downward space is limited [8]