20.11.201903:58:00UTC+00Amended: China Lowers New Lending Rates

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China reduced its new lending rates, as widely expected, to support credit growth.

The one-year loan prime rate was lowered to 4.15 percent from 4.20 percent. Likewise, the five-year loan prime rate was cut to 4.80 percent from 4.85 percent.

The loan prime rate is fixed monthly based on the submission of 18 banks, though Beijing has influence over the rate-setting. This new lending rate replaced central bank's traditional benchmark lending rate in August.

Earlier on Monday, the People's Bank of China had lowered the seven-day repurchase rate to 2.50 percent from 2.55 percent.

With the prop from recent monetary easing likely to be underwhelming and headwinds to economic growth mounting, the PBoC is likely to start to cut rates more aggressively in the coming months, Martin Lynge Rasmussen, an economist at Capital Economics, said.