BEIJING - China's central bank skipped open market operations on Thursday for the fourth day after the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

After cash returning to the banking system offset maturing reverse repos, the liquidity level in the banking system remained at a relatively high level, the People's Bank of China said on its website.

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.

On Thursday, 200 billion yuan ($29.5 billion) of the previous reverse repos matured, meaning liquidity dropped by the same amount in the market.

The Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year, is an important traditional festival for Chinese, and cash demand during the week-long holiday is usually strong. This year, the festival fell on Feb 5.