The policy of lending rates has always been crucial for China as it determines the country's monetary policy. On January 20, the People’s Bank of China kept the lending benchmark rate unchanged for the second straight month. Earlier, the regulator left the medium-term loans at the same rate. The one-year loan prime rate remained (LPR) at 4.15% for prime borrowers, while the five-year LPR was kept at 4.80%. The interest rate on the one-year MLF, the medium-term lending facility, holds at 3.25%. Last week, China's central bank extended new short- and medium-term loans but kept the borrowing costs steady. The regulator seeks to maintain an adequate liquidity level amid a slowdown in the economy by injecting 300 billion yuan ($43.51 billion) via the liquidity tool.
