As expected, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) decided to cut two more key lending rates on Tuesday.
The central bank cut the one-year key lending rate by 10 basis points from 3.65% to 3.55% and the five-year lending key rate by 10 basis points to 4.2% from 4.3% for the first time since August.
Most household and corporate loans in China are based on the PBOC's one-year prime lending rate while mortgages are fixed at the five-year rate.
The move had to be taken to add support to the growth of the world's second largest economy which is still struggling to recover.
The latest cuts follow two similar moves by the PBOC last week by reducing the one-year medium-term lending facility and the seven-day repurchase rate.
The action was also expected from the beginning after seeing a lot of economic data in the last few weeks such as industrial production and fixed asset investment not reaching expectations.
Leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, recently cut their full-year GDP estimates for China and warned of obstacles ahead.
