China’s Xinhua News Agency quoted the National Center for Financial Cooperation as saying: BanksHe said: The price Interest China’s one-year benchmark lending rate, a market-based benchmark, remained at 3.35 percent on Friday, unchanged from the previous month.
Likewise, the prime interest rate for loans for more than five years, which many lenders base their rates on, has remained mortgageunchanged from the previous reading of 3.85 percent.
However, market watchers widely believe that more stimulus will be rolled out to support struggling economywhere reserve relief is granted Federal Beijing has room to ease monetary policy without unduly hurting the yuan.
In a Reuters poll of 39 market economists this week, 27, or 69 percent, expected both rates to be cut.
“The rate cut is likely to be included in a larger policy package, which is being reviewed by senior officials,” said Sheng Zhaoping, chief China strategist at ANZ Bank, referring to Chinese policymakers.
“Current economic data and forecasts all point to the need to lower interest rates,” he added. “In order to lower current mortgage rates, it is also necessary to lower interest rates on Real Estate Loans for 5 years, which could lead to a temporary and significant drop in mortgage interest rates in the last quarter of the year.”
Market watchers said a series of economic data in August, including indicators of credit lending and business activity, raised the urgency for more stimulus measures to support the world’s second-largest economy.
Analysts and policy advisers expect Chinese policymakers to step up measures to help the economy at least meet its more challenging growth target for 2024.
China’s faltering economic activity has prompted global brokerages to cut their forecasts for China’s growth in 2024 to below the government’s official target of around 5 percent.
