ISTANBUL  

The Chinese central bank kept its policy interest rate constant on Wednesday, in line with market expectations, an official statement said.

The bank kept its one-year loan prime rate at 3% while the five-year loan prime rate was steady at 3.5%.

The bank has been keeping the rate at the same level since June, while in May it dropped the rate from 3.6%.

The country's annual inflation rate was at 0% in August, 0.1% in July, and minus 0.1% in June.