China Tasa De Interés

The People's Bank of China left key lending rates unchanged at the April fixing, in line with market expectations. Monday's decision came after the economy grew more than expected in Q1 of 2024 while the yuan faced renewed depreciation pressure. The 1-year loan prime rate (LPR), the benchmark for most corporate and household loans, was maintained at 3.45%. Meanwhile, the 5-year rate, a reference for property mortgages, was retained at 3.95% following a record reduction of 25bps in February. Both rates are at record lows, indicating that Beijing is continuing its attempt to spur an economic recovery following weak activity data in March due to headwinds from the property sector, lingering deflation risks, and fragile trade performance. Meanwhile, new yuan loans in March climbed to CNY 3.09 trillion from CNY 1.45 trillion in February but fell short of consensus. The PBoC last week held a medium-term lending rate while draining cash from the banking system for the second straight month.