Beijing has loosened monetary policy in an attempt to spur growth, after a raft of disappointing data last week showed a continued slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.
The People’s Bank of China on Saturday reduced the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, in effect injecting an approximate Rmb400bn ($63bn) into the Chinese economy. The 50 basis point cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) is the third such cut in six months.
The move had been widely anticipated by economists after nearly every economic indicator for April, from exports and industrial production to retail sales and loan growth, came in weaker than expected.