China keeps lending rate unchanged as data show housing market is still struggling

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — China has kept a key lending rate unchanged despite signs of continued weakness in the second-largest economy’s manufacturing and the property sectors. The central bank kept its rate for 1-year medium-term lending facility loans, used as a benchmark for other lending rates, at 2.5%. The government reported Monday that factory output fell 5.6% in May from the year before, slowing from 6.7% in April. Property investments fell 10% and home sales sank 30%, suggesting a raft of measures to try to turn around a real estate slump have yet to take hold. But officials said the economy was still improving. They pointed to a 4.1% year-on-year increase in retail sales and rising investments in various high-tech industries.