China Stabilizes Bond Market With Symbolic Interest Rate Cut

  • Yields drop after central bank cuts costs on loans to banks
  • Traders had been concerned about prospect of tighter liquidity

Outside the People's Bank of China headquarters in Beijing, China.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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China’s central bank has finally helped put the brakes on the downward spiral in government debt.

While Tuesday’s 5 basis-point reduction in the cost of one-year loans to banks was largely symbolic, it was the first such move since 2016. That was enough to soothe nerves in a market that’s been walloped by the prospect of tighter liquidity in the financial system.