China's December LPR remains unchanged for seven consecutive months: the 5-year LPR is 3.5%, and the 1-year LPR is 3%

On December 22, Monday, China's December LPR quotation was released, remaining unchanged for the seventh consecutive month.

The People's Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to announce that the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) on December 22, 2025, is: 1-year LPR at 3.0%, and 5-year LPR at 3.5%. The above LPR will be effective until the next LPR announcement.

Soochow Securities research report shows that regarding monetary policy, the likelihood of a reserve requirement ratio cut or interest rate reduction within the year is low, but the central bank can inject liquidity through various means such as open market operations, reverse repos, and buying and selling government bonds in the open market.

Market analysis suggests that the next interest rate cut may occur early next year, which will guide loan rates lower.

Looking ahead to 2026, Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Dongfang Jincheng, stated that the moderately loose monetary policy in 2026 will have two main focal points: first, total policy. Considering next year's economic and financial situation as well as price trends, the policy interest rate cut may reach 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points, and the reserve requirement ratio cut may reach 1 percentage point, implemented once in each half of the year. Aiming to stabilize the real estate market, there may be a significant reduction in the 5-year LPR quotation in 2026. Second, structural policy. In 2026, the central bank will optimize the use of various structural monetary policy tools, generally adopting a "quantity increase and price reduction" approach, meaning that the overall quota of structural monetary policy tools will increase, and the operational interest rates will be moderately reduced following the interest rate cuts