SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE - China is expected to leave benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday, while more market participants project further monetary easing to aid the economy following weaker-than-expected second-quarter economic data, a Reuters poll showed.
The survey of 36 market watchers found 23, or 64% of all respondents, expect the one-year and five-year LPRs to stay unchanged. This was lower than a 70% majority who picked a steady outcome in the LPR poll conducted last month. "We continue to see no medium-term lending facility rate cuts for the rest of 2024, but believe a 10-20 basis-point LPR cut is possible with the help of banks lowering deposit rates further," Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS, said.