China’s central bank kept benchmark loan rates unchanged this month, amid continued downward pressure on the yuan and slowing economic growth.
The one-year loan prime rate stood at 3.65% while the five-year rate was 4.3%, both unchanged from last month, the People’s Bank of China said in the statement Monday.
The lack of a change was widely expected after the central bank kept its medium-term lending facility unchanged earlier this month. The medium-term rate is used to in setting the LPR.
The Chinese economy showed more signs of weakness in recent weeks due to COVID-19 flare-ups and more control measures imposed to contain the virus’s spread. But economists say Beijing has refrained from easing more as the Chinese currency is under intense depreciation pressure against a stronger U.S. dollar.