China lowers lending benchmark rate again

Growth strategy: A Chinese national flag flies at the headquarters of the PBoC in Beijing. With growth sliding to near 30-year lows and a partial trade deal with the United States proving elusive, China has slowly picked up its tempo of policy easing in recent weeks. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: China lowered its lending benchmark rate, as widely expected, to reduce company funding costs and shore up an economy hurt by slowing demand and US trade tariffs.

The cut was the second to a key Chinese rate this week and came a day after central bank governor Yi Gang said Beijing would step up credit support and lower real lending rates, as pressure on the world’s second-largest economy increases.