China’s third rate cut in six months as it seeks to suport the slowing economy is set to dominate trading in Asian markets today.

The People’s Bank of China late Sunday cut deposit and lending rates by 0.25 percentage points, effective from today. It is the latest effort by the PBoC to stimulate growth hot on the heels of weak trade data, and signals China’s reversal from “running one of the tightest global monetary policies,” said economists at Jefferies.

Analysts and policy makers have called for further monetary easing by Beijing as Chinese growth has continued to slide. Today’s move was not a surprise since economic conditions have continued to deteriorate, with growth in the first quarter slipping to 7 per cent, the slowest pace since 2009.