China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3.1 percent Monday, 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 3.6 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center.
The LPRs reflect the level of financing costs for households and businesses, with lower rates meaning less burdens on borrowers and stronger support for economic activity.
In 2024, China made three cuts to the LPR, with the one-year LPR falling from 3.45 percent to 3.1 percent, and the over-five-year LPR dropping from 4.2 percent to 3.6 percent, representing reductions of 35 and 60 basis points, respectively.
In March this year, the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) convened its first-quarter meeting of 2025. The meeting discussed the main directions for the next stage's monetary policy and recommended increasing the intensity of monetary policy adjustments. It also proposed enhancing the foresight, precision, and effectiveness of monetary policy adjustments, with potential cuts to the required reserve ratio and interest rates based on evolving domestic and international economic and financial conditions and financial market dynamics.
China's loan prime rates remain unchanged
China's loan prime rates remain unchanged
China's foreign exchange reserves totaled 3.4278 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of February 2026, marking an increase of 28.7 billion dollars, or 0.85 percent, from the end of January, according to official data released on Saturday.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange noted that the U.S. dollar index increased in February, while prices of major global financial assets saw mixed movements, influenced by macroeconomic data, monetary policies, and market expectations in major economies.
The combined effects of exchange rate conversion and changes in asset prices contributed to the increase in China's foreign exchange reserves during the month, the administration said.
China's economy registered steady and improving performance, with new and higher-quality development momentum, the administration noted. The supporting conditions and underlying trend for the long-term sound development of the Chinese economy remain unchanged, providing solid support in the quest to keep the scale of foreign exchange reserves basically stable, it added.
"At the end of February, China's foreign exchange reserves exceeded 3.4 trillion dollars for the first time in nearly ten years, marking the seventh consecutive month of month-on-month growth. We believe the increase in forex reserves, on one hand, confirms that China's long-term positive macroeconomic trend has laid a solid foundation for the overall balance of payments; on the other hand, it also demonstrates that the risk-hedging capabilities of China's reserve assets' are continuously enhancing amid rising volatility in global financial asset prices," said Li Liuyang, chief forex analyst of China International Capital Corporation's research department.
China's foreign exchange reserves rise in February
