The PBOC has left its key lending rates – the one-year and five-year LPR – unchanged at 3.35% and 3.85%, respectively, after cutting them to new record lows last month. The one-year LPR serves as a benchmark rate for business and household loans, while the five-year LPR is the rate used for mortgages. Chinese officials view these two lending rates as tools to regulate business growth and consumer spending. A balancing act to support the economyToday’s decisions were widely anticipated, as two consecutive rate cuts were considered premature, particularly following the bank’s measures to curb a …