The People's Bank of China announces the 1- and 5-year loan prime rates on Monday, 22 July 2024. The announcement is usually on the 20th, but since that was on Saturday it'll be today instead.

Last week we had the monthly Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) setting:

When the People's Bank of China leaves the MLF rate unchanged its often, but not always, a signal that LPRs will remain unchanged.

Current LPR rates are:

  • 3.45% for the one year
  • 3.95% for the five year

The PBOC's Loan Prime Rate (LPR):

  • An interest rate benchmark used in China, set by the People's Bank of China each month.
  • The LPR serves as a reference rate for banks when they determine the interest rates for (primarily new) loans issued to their customers.
  • Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.
  • LPRs are calculated based on the interest rates that a panel of 18 selected commercial banks in China submit daily to the PBOC.
    • The panel consists of both domestic and foreign banks, with different weights assigned to each bank's contributions based on their size and importance in the Chinese financial system.
    • The LPR is based on the average rates submitted by these panel banks, with the highest and lowest rates excluded to reduce volatility and manipulation. The remaining rates are then ranked, and the median rate becomes the LPR.
Economic calendar in Asia 22 July 2024 2
  • This snapshot from the ForexLive economic data calendar, access it here.
  • The times in the left-most column are GMT.
  • The numbers in the right-most column are the 'prior' (previous month/quarter as the case may be) result. The number in the column next to that, where there is a number, is the consensus median expected.