China cuts interest rates by 25 basis points

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Sunday announced that it will cut the benchmark deposit and loan interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) starting May 11.

After the cut, the one-year deposit rate will stand at 2.25 percent, and one-year lending rate at 5.1 percent, according to the announcement.

It was the third rate cut by the PBOC since last November and the latest effort of the country's policy makers to tackle the increasing pressure from economic slowdown.

The move aims to lower funding costs to bolster the real economy and ensure a modest monetary environment amid the ongoing national economic restructuring.

The central bank also decided to adjust the upper limit of the floating band of deposit rates to 1.5 times the benchmark from the previous 1.3 times, marking further step to liberalize the interest rates mechanism.