NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- China's central bank said it would cut the amount banks must hold in reserve, a step toward boosting lending and maintaining strong economic growth.
The People's Bank of China said it would cut the so-called reserve requirement by 0.5%, the second such move in three months, following several increases since 2008.
The decision comes as China tries to pull off a soft landing: It must let economic growth slow enough to prevent inflation -- but it doesn't want growth to slow too much.
Inflation in China is already a concern, rising at a rate of 4.5% as of January, though that is more tame than last summer when prices were rising 6.5%. Food prices were up 10.5% in January.
The Chinese economy grew at an annual pace of 8.9% in the last three months of 2011.
China, the world's second largest economy behind the United States, has grown at an average annual rate of about 10% for the past 30 years.
A growing chorus of skeptics say China's economy is a bubble set to burst. They worry about massive over construction that has resulted in empty buildings and infrastructure projects of little value.
Most notable is short-seller Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates. "We are seeing rapid falloffs in demand in things like construction equipment, railway construction over there, housing sales -- so lots of things are slowing down pretty quickly over there," Chanos said in an interview with CNNMoney this week.
Chanos also thinks the Chinese government is over-stating growth and understating inflation. 
| New York penthouse sells for a record $90 million | ||
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| Inside New York's most expensive apartment | ||
| Why I don't take vacation |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.76% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.11% | 3.02% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.69% | 2.68% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.86% | 3.83% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.21% | 3.13% |
Today's featured rates:
| Latest Report | Next Update |
|---|---|
| Inflation (CPI) | May 15 |
| Retail sales | May 15 |
| Home Prices | May 29 |
| Consumer Confidence | May 29 |
| GDP | May 31 |
| Jobs | Jun 1 |
| Manufacturing (ISM) | Jun 1 |
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