China’s central bank on Tuesday cut a benchmark mortgage interest rate in a move to stimulate the country’s ailing property sector.
The People’s Bank of China reduced the five-year loan prime rate to 3.95 per cent from 4.2 per cent, more than the 4.1 per cent median rate forecast by a Bloomberg poll of 12 economists.
The five-year rate is used as the benchmark for mortgages, while household and corporate loans are based on the one-year rate, which remained unchanged at 3.45 per cent.
The announcement marks the largest cut to the five-year lending rate since it was introduced in 2019.
China’s property sector has seen an extended downturn that has dragged on consumer, business and investor sentiment.