SHANGHAI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China left benchmark

lending rates unchanged on Thursday for the sixth consecutive

month in November, matching market expectations.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The steady loan prime rate (LPR) fixings underscore the

central bank's reduced urgency to deliver additional monetary

easing in the wake of a trade truce between Beijing and

Washington, even as October economic data pointed to signs of a

slowdown.

BY THE NUMBERS

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept

at 3.0%, while the five-year LPR was unchanged

at 3.5%.

In a Reuters survey of 23 market participants conducted this

week, all participants predicted no change to either of the two

rates.

CONTEXT

U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed with President Xi

Jinping last month to trim tariffs on China in exchange for

Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, resuming

U.S. soybean purchases and keeping rare earths exports flowing.

The central bank seems to have shifted to a less dovish

stance after resurfacing "cross-cyclical" policy adjustments in

its third-quarter monetary policy implementation report - its

first mention since the first quarter of last year. The policy

aims to smooth out the impact of economic cycles.

A string of October economic data, including a contraction

in exports and a further slowdown in retail sales, pointed to a

tougher fourth quarter, analysts said.

New loans by Chinese banks fell sharply in October from the

previous month and missed market expectations, as households and

businesses remained wary of taking on more debt due to economic

uncertainties and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

KEY QUOTES

"The PBOC is willing to tolerate further moderation in loan

growth rather than respond with broad-based monetary and credit

easing," said Xinquan Chen, economist at Goldman Sachs.

"That said, with expected economic slowdown now

materializing, we argue that monetary policy easing is more

likely to be delayed than set aside," he said, pushing back

forecast for a "dual cut" in both policy rate and banks' reserve

requirement ratio (RRR) to the first quarter of 2026, from the

current quarter.