China keeps benchmark lending rate steady at 3.85pc

China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady as expected for the fourth straight month at its August fixing today, Reuters repeorts.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85 percent, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65 percent.

Most new and outstanding loans are based on the LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.

The LPR is a lending reference rate set monthly by 18 banks. The PBOC revamped the mechanism to price LPR in August 2019, loosely pegging it to the MLF rate.