BEIJING - The value of bonds issued on China's inter-bank market fell 19.6 percent year-on-year to 3.2 trillion yuan ($492.31 billion) during the first five months of this year, the People's Bank of China said on Tuesday.

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In May alone, inter-bank bond issuances totaled 690.87 billion yuan, down 10.2 percent from April, the central bank said in a statement on its website.

Bonds with terms of less than five years accounted for the majority of inter-bank bonds issued over the last five months, while the issuance of five- to 10-year bonds climbed last month.

Inter-bank lending transactions totaled 11.8 trillion yuan during the January-May period, up 25.8 percent year-on-year, the statement said.

Meanwhile, inter-bank repurchasing was relatively active during the same period, with transactions totaling 37.8 trillion yuan, up 27.8 percent year-on-year.