China cuts benchmark mortgage lending rate amid “zero-COVID” policy


Source: kyodonews.net kyodonews.net

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China's central bank cut its benchmark lending rate for mortgages on Friday, its second reduction this year, as the Communist-led government's radical "zero-COVID" policy weighs on the housing and real estate sectors. The People's Bank of China said it lowered the five-year loan prime rate by 0.15 percentage point to 4.45 percent, while the one-year loan prime rate -- the country's effective benchmark lending rate -- was kept unchanged at 3.70 percent. The move came as the world's second-largest economy has been facing serious downward pressure, with the Communist Party's all-encompassing COVID-19 constraints taking a heavy toll on private spending...