China's central bank cuts rates for 6th time since Nov

Beijing (Oct 23)  China's central bank cut interest rates for the sixth time since November on Friday in another attempt to jumpstart a slowing economy.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website that it was lowering the one-year benchmark bank lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.35 percent, effective from Oct. 24.

The one-year benchmark deposit rate was also lowered by 25 basis points to 1.50 percent.

China has pursued its most aggressive policy easing cycle this year since the 2008/09 global financial crisis, as policymakers seek to invigorate an economy beset by weak demand and excessive industrial capacity.

China's currency, the yuan, was also the center of market interest Friday following media reports that it could a soon be included in the International Monetary Fund's basket of reserve currencies along with the dollar, euro, sterling and the yen.

To win so-called Special Drawing Rights status, China has to demonstrate that its currency is "freely usable," a conclusion the IMF has refused to draw as recently as 2010. The push for special drawing rights is pressing China to reduce capital controls.

In response to the reports, the IMF said in a statement that the organization's staff "are currently finalizing a report to be considered at a formal Board meeting scheduled for November. The decision on the possible inclusion of the RMB (yuan/renminbi) in the SDR basket will ultimately be made by the IMF's Executive Board when the meeting is held in November."

European shares turned higher and the Chinese offshore yuan fell against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 extended gains to trade 2.2 percent higher at 1,493.60, with miners jumping 2.9 percent in the minutes after the move.

China's offshore yuan hit a four-week low of 6.3958 to the dollar after the decision.

Source: CNBC