BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank continued to skip open market operations on Monday, citing increased liquidity in the banking system.

The liquidity level has been pushed up due to factors such as cash returning to the banking system, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.

No reverse repos will be conducted Monday "in order to maintain reasonably sufficient liquidity in the banking system," the statement said.

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

No reverse repos are due to mature this week.

The PBOC has skipped reverse repos for six work days consecutively since the end of the week-long Spring Festival holiday, when cash demand is usually strong.