The People's Bank of China said it drained 44 bln yuan from the banking system via the sale of three-year bonds and three-month bank bills in open market operations this morning.

In a statement published on its website, the bank said the yield for 14 bln yuan worth of three-year central bank bonds was 3.71 pct, unchanged from the yield set last week.

Another 30 bln yuan worth of three-month central bank bills were auctioned at 2.7868 pct, also unchanged from last Thursday.

The central bank usually issues one-year bills on Tuesdays and three-year and three-month paper on Thursdays.