China Holds LPR Rates Steady for 5th Straight Month

2025-10-20 01:12 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) kept key lending rates at record lows for a fifth consecutive month in October, in line with market expectations.

The move followed its decision to leave the seven-day reverse repo rate unchanged last week—now serving as the main policy rate—amid the U.S.

Federal Reserve’s return to monetary easing in September and ongoing Sino-US trade tensions.

The one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR), the benchmark for most corporate and household borrowing, remained at 3.0%, while the five-year LPR, which anchors mortgage rates, held at 3.5%.

Both rates were last lowered by 10 basis points in May.

The decision came ahead of a raft of key economic data releases, including third-quarter GDP, industrial production, and retail sales.

Meanwhile, new yuan loans rose sharply in September 2025, more than doubling August’s figure, supported by seasonal factors that typically boost lending during the month.



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