China cuts bank reserve requirement to shore up growth

Beijing

CHINA'S central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Wednesday, the first industry-wide cut in more than 21/2 years, as it increased efforts to shore up flagging growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The move, which came less than three months after China also cut interest rates for the first time in over two years, was widely expected by investors, who had bet that monetary policy had to be further loosened to lift economic growth from a 24-year low.