China cuts key mortgage rate, ‘encouraging sign’ amid push to stabilise property market

China announced on Monday it had slashed a key reference rate for mortgage loans by a quarter of a percentage point, as the country stepped up efforts to stabilise the property market.

The benchmark five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered from 3.85 per cent to 3.6 per cent, while the one-year lending rate was also cut from 3.35 per cent to 3.1 per cent, according to the People’s Bank of China.