SHANGHAI—China cut its benchmark reference rate for mortgages by an unexpectedly wide margin on Friday, its second reduction this year.
The country’s economy took a hit after the Chinese regime imposed extreme COVID-19 restrictions, causing huge disruptions to activity.
China, in a monthly fixing, lowered the five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 15 basis points to 4.45 percent, the biggest reduction since China revamped the interest rate mechanism in 2019 and more than the five or 10 basis points tipped by most in a Reuters poll. The one-year LPR was unchanged at 3.70 percent.
The country’s benchmark stock index, Shanghai Composite Index, rose roughly 1 percent in early trading on the rate cut on Friday. The move failed to excite mainland-listed property shares, which were flat, although Hong Kong-listed developers inched up slightly….