The liquidity rescue by the central bank seems powerful, but the market is still screaming — the overnight repo rate again surged to around 3.8% on Monday.

The problem is quite painful: is this round of operation too conservative or too slow? Or are both factors at play?

The tepid response in the short-term financing market says it all. Those rates remain under continuous pressure, reflecting a deeper issue — a shortfall in short-term liquidity within the financial system. This brings to mind the turmoil at the end of 2019; once borrowing costs spiral out of control, market chaos is often not far behind.

Some say the central bank has already exhausted all efforts, using every tool in its toolbox. But the nerves of the market remain tense, and that’s the most troublesome part. Once this tension spreads, like a virus, to short-term government bonds, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other areas, volatility will sharply increase.

What’s more complicated is that the distribution of reserves in the system is fundamentally uneven. Some institutions are flooded with cash, while others are struggling to finance themselves.

There are also voices claiming this is just a "technical adjustment," and that the market has not shown any abnormality, with the central bank having already stabilized the liquidity issue. But if this tense atmosphere persists until the end of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.