China's central bank cut two key interest rates to historic lows on Monday, in the latest attempt by the authorities to boost growth amid trade tensions with Washington and a housing crisis.
The annual LPR rate, which is the most favorable reference rate that banks can offer to companies and other clients, has been lowered from 3,1 percent to three percent, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced.
The five-year LPR, the benchmark interest rate for mortgage loans, was lowered from 3,6 percent to 3,5 percent, according to the same source.
Those rates were lowered in October last year, when they reached their lowest level ever.
China and the United States agreed last week to reduce reciprocal tariffs over the next 90 days, fueling hopes in economic circles that there will be a permanent reduction in tensions.
The Chinese state, however, must continue to deal with stagnant domestic consumption and a long crisis in the real estate sector, which are obstacles to its growth target of around five percent for 2025.
Yesterday, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that industrial production grew 6,1 percent in April from a year earlier, more than economists surveyed had expected.
According to the bureau, new home prices decreased in 67 of the 70 cities surveyed during the same period, indicating that the real estate market remains "fragile."
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