China keeps lending benchmark lending rate steady for 5th month in row

China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the fifth straight month at its September fixing on Monday, as expected.

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.

Thirty-one out of 35 traders and analysts, or nearly 90%, in a snap Reuters poll conducted last week saw no change to either the one-year or the five-year LPR.

The rate decision came after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) kept the borrowing cost on medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans unchanged for the fifth straight month.