The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, has lowered its benchmark lending rates in an attempt to bolster a slowing economy that has been hampered by an unprecedented slump in the property sector, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The PBOC said Thursday that it cut its five-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for medium- and longer-term loans including mortgages, to 4.60% from 4.65%—the first such cut since April 2020. The Chinese central bank also lowered the one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.70%, the second cut to that rate in as many months.
The moves were widely expected by analysts and traders after the central bank on Monday lowered rates on its one-year medium-term lending facility by 10 basis points, to 2.85%, underscoring Beijing’s shift to a looser policy stance as economic clouds gather.