China's central bank cut banks' benchmark lending and deposit rates by 1.08
percentage point on Wednesday, the fourth cut since mid-September.
The cost of one-year bank loans will fall to 5.58 percent from 6.66 percent, while the
benchmark one-year deposit rate falls to 2.52 percent from 3.60 percent, the People's
Bank of China (PBOC) said.
The cut in interest rates takes effect on Thursday, the central bank said on its website
(www.pbc.gov.cn).
The cut in the lending rate was the biggest since October 1997.
