China’s central bank will conduct MLF operations Thursday

China’s central bank will conduct medium-term lending facility (MLF) operations on Thursday, reported Reuters.

A batch of RMB 200 billion ($28.20 billion) worth of one-year MLF loans is due to expire on the day. Markets will closely monitor the interest rate on the fresh MLF loan injection to gauge the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) monetary policy stance.

The MLF now acts as a guide for the PBOC’s new lending benchmark Loan Prime Rate (LPR).The one-year MLF rate now stands at 2.95%.