As expected, the People’s Bank of China did not change the benchmark loan interest rate (LPR) at its March meeting.

China did not change its benchmark loan interest rate (LPR) for the seventh consecutive month in March, as expected after the policy steps it took last week as the economy recovered from the pandemic.

The one-year loan interest rate was maintained at LPR 3.65 percent, while the five-year LPR was maintained at 4.30 percent.

“The necessity and urgency of rate cuts in the short term are not very high,” said Bruce Pang, Chief Economist at Jones Lang Lasalle. Pang noted that although the recovery is gaining momentum, China’s monetary policy easing has been constrained by factors such as the yuan rate and global monetary tightening.

He said the need for closer monetary easing had subsided after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced on March 17 that it would reduce the amount of cash banks had to set aside as reserves.