China's loan prime rates remain unchanged

BEIJING - China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, stood at 3 percent on Sunday, 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 3.5 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center.

LPRs, published each month, reflect financing costs for households and businesses and serve as a pricing reference for bank lending. Lower rates can ease borrowers' financing burdens and encourage investment and consumption.

China's one-year and over-five-year LPRs have remained unchanged for 16 consecutive months since June 2025.

Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, attributed the unchanged LPRs partly to the resilience of the economy. He cited continued strength in exports, a pickup in year-on-year growth in both the consumer price index and producer price index, and a marked acceleration in industrial output growth in August.

Wen also noted that lending rates remained relatively low in August, which provided strong support for the real economy and reduced the need for a policy rate cut.

Data showed that the weighted average interest rate on newly issued corporate loans was below 3 percent in August 2026, about 0.2 percentage point lower than a year earlier, while the rate on newly issued personal housing loans remained unchanged at about 3.1 percent.

China will continue to implement a more proactive fiscal policy and adopt an appropriately accommodative monetary policy in 2026, this year's government work report noted.