The Pak Banker

China's central bank aims for stability in monetary policy

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China's central bank is determined to maintain a prudent monetary policy stance, but it can be slightly adjusted according to changes in economic growth and price levels, to prevent "the divergence of inflation expectatio­n," according to its quarterly issued report on Saturday.

The report from the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said that the policy should be stable, and China will continue to be one of the few major economies keeping the "normal" monetary policy.

The monetary policy should strike a balance between the total amount and structural adjustment­s, and improve the efficiency of the monetary policy transmissi­on system. The pressure of social credit contractio­ns should be released, the central bank highlighte­d.

Talking about the current price level, the PBOC said that China has no foundation for persistent inflation or deflation. The recent price rise was mainly because of "the relative changes of economic foundation­s and the market supply and demand relationsh­ip". It added, "But overall, the price level is under control."

The central bank also plans to further improve the interest rate reform, based on a shifting of the benchmark lending rate.

The loan prime rate, the new benchmark which has been used for newly issued bank loans, will be introduced to outstandin­g loans. "Meanwhile, competitio­n in the deposit market should be sustained, to ensure that banks can have stable costs on the liability side."

The PBOC will also maintain a stable exchange rate for renminbi, and steadily improve RMB capital account liberaliza­tion, to support the currency's usage in cross-border trade and investment.

It will continue to improve the mechanism for the issuance of RMB bills in Hong Kong. The issuance and term varieties will depend on market demand, and promote other issuers to release RMB bonds in the offshore market. "In the future, the central bank bills will also play an important role in promoting financial supply-side structural reform and RMB internatio­nalization," the report said.

Globally, the monetary easing environmen­t has promoted financial asset prices and facilitate­d the debt accumulati­on, while the fragility in the financial system is rising, said the PBOC. Against the backdrop, risk factors may lead to a rise of risk aversion and threaten the financial stability, which can affect the global economy. "Slow growth, low inflation and low interest rates" will challenge the monetary policy, and the interest rate policy has "limited room" to offset the influences. The efficiency of quantitati­ve easing and other "abnormal" monetary policy is also limited, according to the Chinese central bank, which suggested a need to enhance policy coordinati­on and take structural reforms to strengthen growth.

Meanwhile, China has no conditions for continuous inflation or deflation as the government's macro policies are taking effect, the country's central bank said Saturday.

The domestic economy is facing downward pressure, and its endogenous growth momentum should be further enhanced, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in its latest quarterly policy report.

The central bank will step up countercyc­lical adjustment­s while staying away from using a deluge of stimulus policies, the report said.

The PBOC said efforts should be enhanced to prevent the spread of the expectatio­ns for inflation.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent yearon-year in October, while the producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 1.6 percent year-on-year last month.

 ?? -AFP ?? A supporter of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro fights with an opposition leader Juan Guaido's supporter outside the Venezuelan embassy in Brazil.
-AFP A supporter of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro fights with an opposition leader Juan Guaido's supporter outside the Venezuelan embassy in Brazil.

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