China maintained its benchmark interest rates for the seventh straight month, as widely expected, on Monday.
The People's Bank of China left its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.0 percent on Monday. Likewise, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.50 percent.
The bank had reduced its both LPRs by quarter points in October 2024 and 10 basis points each in May.
The PBoC fixes the LPR monthly based on the submission of 20 designated banks. However, Beijing has influence over the fixing. The LPR replaced the traditional benchmark lending rate in August 2019.
At the Central Economic Work Conference, held earlier in December, policymakers said they will maintain a more proactive fiscal policy in the coming year. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund raised China's growth outlook, citing policy stimulus measures and reduced US-China bilateral tariffs. The lender upgraded economic growth for this year to 5 percent from 4.8 percent and that for next year to 4.5 percent from 4.2 percent.
The IMF team urged China to tackle imbalances through more macroeconomic policies and complementary reforms to reduce huge household savings.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.