China cuts benchmark rate for second time time this year, as widely expected

SHANGHAI - China cut its benchmark lending rate as expected on Monday to reduce borrowing costs for companies and prop up the coronavirus-hit economy, after it contracted for the first time in decades.

The move was the second cut to the lending benchmark rate this year, and the latest reduction in one of China's key lending rates. Most new and outstanding loans are based on the LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages. Data on Friday showed the Chinese economy shrank 6.8 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier as the virus and tough containment measures shut down factories and shops and put millions out of work. That was the first contraction since at least 1992, when quarterly records were first published.

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China Q1 GDP records historic contraction of 6.8%CHINA'S gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three months of the year shrank by 6.8 per cent, its lowest rate on record as the coronavirus pandemic bought the world's second-largest economy to a standstill. Read more at The Business Times.
Source: BusinessTimes - 🏆 15. / 51 Read more »