A man sits in front of the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, in Beijing in this file photo. China cut the benchmark lending rate Thursday, as the authorities move to lower financing costs for businesses and support an economy jolted by a coronavirus outbreak. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), the new benchmark lending gauge introduced in August, was lowered by 10 basis points to 4.05 percent from 4.15 percent at the previous monthly fixing. The five-year LPR was lowered by 5 basis points to 4.75 percent from 4.80 percent. SD-Agencies