The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) may suspend sales of the country’s three-month government bonds today as banks hold on to cash in the lead up to Chinese New Year, Bloomberg reported, citing traders. “It’s probably a temporary suspension because of the cash crunch,” said Liu Junyu, a Shenzhen-based bond analyst with China Merchants Bank. The seven-day repurchase rate, a measure of interbank funding, hit a high mark of 5% twice this week, the highest rate since October. US$2.1 billion in three-month bills will mature this week and will rise to US$8 billion the week of January second as banks redeem the bills and hold onto cash. Liu said that the PBoC may cut the reserve ratio before Chinese New Year to add liquidity to the system.