
China slashes key interest rate as housing sales collapse
CNN
China on Friday slashed a key interest rate to rescue its slumping housing market and head off a major downturn in the world's second largest economy.
The People's Bank of China cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 15 basis points to 4.45%, the second reduction this year and the largest on record. Most analysts had expected a cut of five basis points.
China's LPR is the rate at which commercial banks lend to their best customers. It serves as the benchmark for other loans and the five-year maturity is typically used as a reference for mortgages.

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