SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China kept benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing on Wednesday, matching market expectations, as fresh signs of economic stabilisation and a weakening yuan constrained further monetary easing efforts.
The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.45%, while the five-year LPR was unchanged at 4.20%.
In a Reuters survey of 29 market analysts and traders, all participants predicted no change to the one-year LPR, while a vast majority of them also expected the five-year rate to remain steady.
Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.
China cut the one-year benchmark lending rate in August but surprised markets by keeping the five-year rate unchanged.
(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Tom Westbrook, Editing by Sam Holmes)
