The People’s Bank of China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on 20 August, holding the one-year Loan Prime Rate at 3.0% and the five-year tenor at 3.5%. It is the third month in a row that policymakers have kept the rates steady, and the outcome matched the forecasts of all 23 participants in a Reuters poll. The decision signals that officials favour targeted, sector-specific support over broad monetary easing even after a string of disappointing July indicators. Factory output growth slowed to an eight-month low, retail sales lost momentum, and new yuan loans contracted for the first time in two decades. Economists said the central bank could still trim the LPR by about 10 basis points or cut banks’ reserve-requirement ratio by up to 50 basis points later in the year if conditions worsen. For now, authorities are relying on measures such as interest subsidies for service-sector firms while cautioning against excess liquidity idling in the banking system. A recent extension of the US-China tariff truce has also reduced immediate pressure for aggressive stimulus, allowing Beijing to maintain policy continuity and preserve room for manoeuvre should global conditions deteriorate.