China’s central bank has cut its key interest rate and taken other measures to shore up the economy amid a prolonged slump in the property market.
The People’s Bank of China on Friday trimmed the seven-day reverse repo rate from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent. The bank has set this as its new main policy rate.
The move should lower costs for housing loans and corporate borrowing.
The central bank also cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by half a percentage point. This is expected to funnel 1 trillion yuan, or about 140 billion dollars, into the financial market.
The Chinese Communist Party announced on Thursday it will actively promote fiscal policies on top of monetary easing. It aims to achieve an economic growth target for the country of around 5 percent this year.