SHANGHAI: China's Ministry of Finance auctioned 22 billion yuan ($3.55 billion) of one-year bills in the interbank market on Wednesday at an average yield of 3.54 percent, traders said, near the top of the expected range.

Market forecasts had centred around 3.48 percent and ranged from 3.40 to 3.55 percent.

The auction yield came in above Tuesday's benchmark secondary market yield of 3.4326 percent for one-year government bonds.