China keeps interest rates steady, meeting forecasts

People's Bank of China leaves 1-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.65%, 5-year rate at 4.3%

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) on Monday held its benchmark interest rates constant for the seventh straight month, widely meeting expectations.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) – the medium-term lending facility uses for corporate and household loans – was left unchanged at 3.65%, the central bank said in a release on Monday.

It kept the five-year LPR, a reference for mortgages, steady at 4.3%.

The bank last week hold its medium-term lending facility loans unchanged at 2.75%.

Last Thursday, the PBoC lowered the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions by 25 basis points, with an immediate effect.

China's annual consumer inflation fell to a year low of 1% in February, down from 2.1% in January, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

On a monthly basis, China's consumer prices index unexpectedly fell 0.5% in February, bucking the market estimate of 0.2% growth.

Kaynak:

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