China’s central bank cut interest rates starting Monday in the face of inflationary pressure and economic headwinds, but experts say the step should not be interpreted as the start of quantitative easing (QE). The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Sunday announced it will cut the benchmark deposit and loan interest rates by 25 basis points. After the move, the third rate cut in six months, the one-year deposit rate stands at 2.25 percent, and the one-year lending rate at 5.1 percent. China’s consumer price index ( CPI ) edged up to 1.5 percent in April, but came in below market expectations. The producer price index (PPI), a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate and a leading indicator of CPI movements, plunged 4.6 percent year on year in April, marking the 38th straight month of declines […]