China's loan prime rates remain unchanged

BEIJING -- China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3.45 percent Thursday, unchanged from the previous month.

The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 3.95 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center.

China cut the over-five-year rate by 25 basis points to 3.95 percent in February, the largest drop in recent years. The one-year rate remained unchanged in February.

The lending rate is expected to be stable in the short term, but there is still room for the rate to dip in the future, according to Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.

In order to reduce financing costs and maintain the stable net interest margin of banks, deposit rates still need to be further lowered, he said, adding that this leaves space for a subsequent decline of the LPR.

A lower LPR is expected to shore up the credit and property markets, reduce the financial costs of businesses and individuals, and contribute to steady economic recovery.

Monthly LPR data serves as a pricing reference for banks that is based on the rates of the central bank's open market operations, especially the medium-term lending facility rate.