By Alimat Aliyeva

The People's Bank of China (NBK, the country's central Bank) has maintained the base interest rate on loans (LPR) for one year at 3.45% per annum and the five-year rate at 3.95% per annum, Azernews reports.

Both rates remain at record lows, reflecting Beijing's continued efforts to boost economic recovery amid problems in the real estate sector, deflationary risks and unstable foreign trade.

The LPR rate became the main benchmark in August 2019 after the interest rate reform carried out by the Chinese Central Bank. Starting in 2020, the NBU requires banks to focus on LPR when determining rates on new loans. The five–year rate affects the cost of mortgages, and the annual rate affects all others.

Last week, the NBK injected 125 billion yuan ($17.3 billion) into the financial system under the medium-term lending program (MLF) and kept the interest rate on loans for the year issued under MLF at 2.5%.