China keeps benchmark lending rates for 6th consecutive month ‎in a row

China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the sixth consecutive month in February, in line with expectations, as the world’s second-largest economy showed more signs of a lasting recovery from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to “Reuters”, a group of data that came in better than expected recently indicates a recovery in economic activity after Beijing ended its strict zero-Covid strategy in December and turned it into a policy supportive of growth.

China kept the one-year lending base rate at 3.65 percent, while the five-year lending rate remained unchanged at 4.30 percent.

New bank loans in China jumped more than expected to a record 4.9 trillion yuan in January as the central bank looked to start a recovery, while new home prices rose for the first time in a year after Beijing boosted its support for the real estate sector, which accounts for a quarter of the local economy.