BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - China's central bank vicegovernor Liu Guoqiang said on Tuesday that the future interestrate policy focus would be on new Loan Prime Rate (LPR) reformsand that 1-year policy benchmark rates may not be changed in thenear term.
There is room for cuts in both the banks' reserverequirement ratios (RRR) and lending rates, Liu told a group ofreporters after a briefing.
China switched to a revamped LPR lending benchmark rate onTuesday for banks to use when setting rates on new loans,instead of the central bank's existing benchmark one-yearlending rate.
But China will not scrap the benchmark lending rate for thetime being, said Liu, adding that policymakers still need timeto observe effects of LPR reform.(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Kevin Yao)