China’s central bank is slowing down the pace of monetary easing amid signs of economic recovery, handing disappointment to investors who have worried about tightening liquidity and rising bond yields.

Since early May, the People’s Bank of China has tolerated a steady increase in money market rates and the highest 10-year sovereign bond yield in five months. And although a fresh liquidity injection was signaled by the government two weeks ago, Gov. Yi Gang is taking an unusually long time to deliver.

Instead, Yi has told markets to start thinking about an "exit” from the looser financial policies seen earlier this year, even as the country faces a highly uncertain path out of the historic economic slump in the first quarter. For now, he’s backed by the data — a manufacturing survey released this week points to continued improvement in both demand and supply in June.