This post was originally published on South China Morning Post.
China keeps benchmark loan rate steady for ninth straight month with ‘inaction not surprising’
China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans the same for a ninth straight month at its January fixing on Wednesday, matching market expectations.The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 per cent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 per cent.“Commercial banks left the loan prime rate on hold. But with monetary conditions already being tightened in practice and underlying inflation set to rebound, we think it is still likely that the [People’s…