China keeps lending benchmark LPR unchanged for 17th straight month

By Tom Westbrook and Anushka Trivedi Posted on September 21, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Chinese national flag flutters at the headquarters of a commercial bank on a financial street near the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, in central Beijing

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China stood pat on its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans for the 17th straight month at its September fixing on Wednesday, matching market expectations.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.85%. The five-year LPR remained at 4.65%.

Nineteen traders and analysts, or 95% of 20 participants, in the snap poll conducted last week had predicted no change in either tenor.

Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR. The five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Sam Holmes)