HONG KONG -- China's central bank on Thursday unexpectedly reduced the rate at which it lends to financial institutions, marking the first such cut in nearly a year as Beijing attempts to spur sluggish economic growth.
The People's Bank of China lowered the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate to 2.3%, from 2.5%. The bank issued 200 billion yuan ($27.5 billion) in loans at this rate.
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