BEIJING — China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3.85 percent on Dec 21, unchanged from the previous month.

The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 4.65 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center (NIFC).

The lending rates have remained steady for eight consecutive months since May, matching market expectations, analysts said.

China will continue to implement proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy amid efforts to maintain necessary support for economic recovery, according to the annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing last week.

The country will implement a monetary policy that is flexible, precise, reasonable, and moderate, according to the meeting, which stressed that the money supply and aggregate social financing should grow at basically the same level as the country's nominal economic growth.

Based on bank quotes calculated by adding a few basis points to the interest rate of open market operations (mainly referring to the medium-term lending facility rate), the LPR is calculated by the NIFC to serve as a pricing reference for bank lending. The LPR currently consists of rates with two maturities — one year and over five years.

The quoting banks submit their figures before 9 am on the 20th day of every month. The NIFC calculates and releases the LPR at 9:30 am on the same day or on the next working day.