China central bank says it has room to cut bank reserve ratio further

By Kevin Yao

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has room to further cut banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR), among other policy tools at its disposal, a deputy central bank head said on Thursday, underlining market expectations for more easing measures to bolster the economy.

The world's second-biggest economy started the year on a solid footing, offering some relief to policymakers as they try to shore up confidence and growth amid persistent weakness in the property sector.

"China's monetary policy has ample room and rich policy tool reserves, and there is still room for cutting the RRR," Xuan Changneng, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), told a press conference in Beijing.

Cutting the RRR - now at about 7% - would be an important way for the PBOC to inject liquidity into the economy, and it may expand the central bank's balance sheet, which stands at about 45 trillion yuan ($6.25 trillion), Xuan said.

"If the reserve requirement ratio is lowered, the central bank's balance sheet will expand more," he said, in a rare comment on the bank's balance sheet.

The PBOC announced a 50-basis points cut in the RRR in January, the biggest in two years, and analysts believe at least one more reduction may be on the cards this year as policymakers try to boost growth.

The decline in deposit costs and the shift of monetary policies in other major economies will help with China's interest rate policy operations, Xuan said.

On Wednesday, the PBOC left its benchmark lending rates unchanged amid some signs of improvement in the broad economy.

China will promote effective investment and help resolve excess capacity, he said, expecting the country's nominal economic growth target to be around 8% in 2024.

Premier Li Qiang unveiled China's 2024 economic growth target of "around 5%" at the annual parliamentary meeting earlier this month.

Li also set a 2024 inflation target of around 3% but analysts point to persistent deflationary risks and have described the growth target as ambitious given the protracted crisis in the property sector.

China's consumer prices rose for the first time in six months in February due to spending linked to the Lunar New Year, offering some reprieve for the economy grappling with weak consumer sentiment, while factory-gate prices fell again.

AIMS TO REFLATE ECONOMY

Xuan said the central bank will support the growth of household incomes and consumption and meet reasonable credit demand from consumers while curbing "blind expansion" in industries with overcapacity.

"We will focus on expanding domestic demand, promoting a match between supply and demand, and promoting a virtuous economic cycle. All such measures will play an important role in supporting a modest rebound of price levels," he said.

Some analysts believe the central bank faces a challenge as more credit is flowing to production than into consumption, exposing structural flaws in the economy and reducing the effectiveness of its monetary policy tools.

At the same press conference on Thursday, vice finance minister Liao Min said fiscal policy will provide necessary support to achieve the 2024 growth target and the country's government debt is at "an appropriate level."

Total funds raised from central and local government debt for investments will exceed 6 trillion yuan this year, Liu Sushe, vice head of the National Development and Reform Commission - the top state planner, told the news conference.

Most of the 1 trillion yuan of sovereign bonds issued last year for disaster prevention infrastructure will be used this year, on top of 1 trillion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds, 700 billion yuan of central budget funds and 3.9 trillion yuan in local government special bonds, Liu said.

($1 = 7.1987 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Ellen Zhang; Editing by Kim Coghill, Shri Navaratnam and Lincoln Feast)