PBoC Loan Prime Rate November 2026
November 19 @ 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
PBoC Loan Prime Rate November 2026
Next PBoC Loan Prime Rate: Friday, at 9:00 am CST (8:00 pm ET, 1:00 am London).
- Consensus
- Not yet published
- Prior
- Held at 3.0%
- Actual
- Pending
Full schedule and background: PBoC Loan Prime Rate.
Updated
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announces its Loan Prime Rate (LPR) decision for November 2026 on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 9:00 am China Standard Time, which is 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, November 19, and 1:00 am London time on Friday. The LPR is China’s benchmark lending rate, published monthly and used as the reference point for new bank loans and mortgages across the country. Full schedule and background: PBoC Loan Prime Rate.
What is the PBoC and what does it decide?
The People’s Bank of China is the country’s central bank. Unlike the US Federal Reserve or the Bank of England, it does not set a single headline interest rate through a vote by a rate-setting committee. Instead, the PBoC calculates and publishes the Loan Prime Rate each month based on submissions from a panel of 18 designated commercial banks, which quote the rate they charge their best corporate customers.
There are two LPR figures: the one-year rate, which anchors most new corporate and consumer loans, and the five-year-plus rate, which is the reference point for mortgage pricing. The PBoC’s Monetary Policy Committee, an advisory body rather than a voting board, meets quarterly to review broader policy settings, but the LPR itself is fixed on the 20th of each month (or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday), based on the previous day’s bank submissions.
Changes in the LPR flow through to the real economy quickly. A lower one-year LPR reduces borrowing costs for small businesses and consumer loans, while a lower five-year LPR cuts the cost of new mortgages, a lever Beijing has used repeatedly to support its property sector.
When is the November PBoC decision announced?
The November 2026 fixing is released on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 9:00 am local time in Beijing (8:00 pm ET the previous evening, 1:00 am London time). There is no accompanying press conference or written statement in the way the Federal Reserve or European Central Bank publish one. The PBoC simply posts the one-year and five-year LPR figures on its official website, alongside the results of the loan prime rate quoting mechanism.
Any broader signal on policy direction typically comes separately, through the PBoC’s quarterly Monetary Policy Report or statements around reserve requirement ratio changes, rather than through commentary tied to the LPR release itself.
What to expect
As of the most recent verified reading, the PBoC held the one-year LPR at 3.0% and the five-year LPR at 3.5% in April 2026, marking an 11th consecutive month without a change, according to CNBC. That freeze reflected resilient first-quarter growth and policymakers’ preference to hold back stimulus while assessing external risks, including the impact of higher global oil prices at the time.
A formal, widely published consensus forecast in the style of a Reuters poll is not routinely produced for the monthly LPR fixing in the way it is for Federal Reserve or Bank of England meetings. Economists watching Chinese policy generally frame their expectations around whether the PBoC will use other tools first, such as the reserve requirement ratio or open market operations, before adjusting the LPR itself.
| Meeting | Decision | Rate after meeting (1-year / 5-year) |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | Held | 3.0% / 3.5% |
Only the April 2026 fixing above has been independently verified against a primary source at the time of writing. Readers should check the PBoC’s own release for the confirmed history of monthly fixings between April and November 2026.
Market impact scenarios
| Scenario | Likely market read | What it means in plain English |
|---|---|---|
| Hold | Read as a signal that Beijing sees current growth and inflation conditions as manageable without fresh stimulus | Borrowing costs for mortgages and business loans in China stay the same |
| Cut | Typically read as a sign of concern about slowing growth, weak property demand or soft consumer spending | Cheaper loans and mortgages in China, but a signal the economy may need support |
| Guidance shift via other tools | Analysts watch reserve requirement ratio changes or liquidity operations as an alternative to moving the LPR directly | Banks may have more cash to lend even if the headline LPR does not move |
What will the statement and press conference signal?
There is no press conference tied to the LPR fixing, so markets instead look for context clues: comments from PBoC officials in state media, the pace of medium-term lending facility operations, and any adjustment to bank reserve requirements in the days around the announcement. Analysts also watch whether commercial banks’ net interest margins are under pressure, since squeezed bank profitability can make lenders reluctant to lower their LPR quotes even if the PBoC wants looser policy.
Dissent in the formal sense does not apply here, since the LPR is a weighted average of submissions from the 18 quoting banks rather than a committee vote. The main risk analysts flag is a mismatch between the LPR and the property market: if mortgage demand stays weak despite low rates, further mortgage-specific support measures could follow outside the LPR mechanism itself.
What It Means for Your Money
For people with loans or mortgages in China, a lower five-year LPR directly reduces the reference rate used to price new and, in many cases, existing floating-rate mortgages, lowering monthly repayments. A hold keeps repayments unchanged. For savers in China, deposit rates tend to move in the same direction as the LPR over time, so a prolonged freeze also means little change to returns on bank deposits.
Outside China, the LPR decision matters mainly through its effect on global growth expectations and the exchange rate. A weaker Chinese economy, signalled by repeated LPR cuts, can dampen demand for commodities and goods exported by the UK, eurozone and other Asian economies, while affecting the value of the yuan against the dollar and pound. Investors holding shares in companies with significant China exposure, including luxury goods, mining and semiconductor firms, and those holding funds or pensions with emerging market allocations, may see indirect effects on portfolio values. Currency traders also watch the fixing for signals about the yuan’s managed exchange rate band.
Related events
- Previous decision: PBoC Loan Prime Rate, October 2026
- Full PBoC LPR schedule and background: PBoC Loan Prime Rate hub
- China’s monthly inflation and trade data releases, published in the weeks before the LPR fixing, are typically the key inputs the PBoC weighs when setting the rate
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is the November 2026 PBoC LPR announced?
The fixing is published at 9:00 am China Standard Time on Friday, November 20, 2026, which is 8:00 pm ET the previous evening and 1:00 am London time.
What is the current Loan Prime Rate?
As of the most recently verified reading, the one-year LPR stood at 3.0% and the five-year LPR at 3.5%, unchanged since April 2026, according to CNBC’s report on the April fixing.
Will the PBoC cut rates in November 2026?
There is no widely published consensus forecast for this specific fixing. Whether the PBoC holds or cuts depends on incoming growth, inflation and property market data, and any decision should be treated as a possibility rather than a prediction.
When is the next PBoC LPR decision?
The PBoC fixes the LPR monthly, typically on the 20th of each month or the next business day. Check the PBoC Loan Prime Rate hub for the next confirmed date.
Where can I see the official LPR figures?
The PBoC publishes the fixing on its own website, at pbc.gov.cn.