China’s 10-year government bond yield edged lower to around 1.62% after a brief increase earlier in the session, as the People's Bank of China unexpectedly announced a temporary halt to treasury bond purchases due to a supply shortage. This surprise move comes in response to a sharp drop in benchmark bond yields to record lows and a multi-month depreciation of the yuan amid mounting concerns about China’s economic outlook, driven by a property market crisis, sluggish consumer spending, and looming deflationary pressures. The central bank noted that purchases would resume based on supply and demand conditions in the government bond market. Meanwhile, economic data released on Thursday showed that China’s annual consumer prices ticked down to 0.1% in December 2024 from 0.2% in November, marking the lowest rate since March. Moreover, producer prices fell 2.3% year-on-year, easing from a 2.5% drop in November, which was the smallest contraction since August.