China’s money-market rate dropped for a second day on speculation cash supply will improve once companies have finished paying taxes for the month. “In the short term, the cash shortage will ease,” said Cheng Qingsheng, a bond analyst at Evergrowing Bank Co. in Shanghai, adding that tax payments in April and May are the year’s biggest. Cheng estimates local firms paid a total of 500 billion yuan ($81.6 billion) in taxes in May. The People’s Bank of China asked lenders today to submit orders for 28-day repurchase contracts and gauged demand for three-month bills, all used to drain funds from the financial system, ... (full story)