The PBOC set one- and five-year loan prime rates today, due around 0115 GMT.
Currently:
- one-year LPR is 3.70%
- five-year is at 4.60%
The LPRs are benchmark lending rates, set on the 20th of each month. 18 commercial banks in China submit their proposed rates to the People's Bank of China. The LPRs are based on the current rate charged for the PBOC Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF). The most recent MLF was set at an unchanged rate. The LPRs were last cut in January this year.
Once again today, consensus expectations (I've seen surveys suggesting 18 of 28 analysts expect a cut today) are for LPR cuts. This is despite the MLF rate remaining unchanged in May. Analysts that expecting a cut base thier hopes on falling banks' funding costs and also PBOC assurances of more supportinve policy to come.
Graph below via Bloomberg. Note the scaling is a bit weird ...:
