BEIJING, Nov 16 — China's central bank said today that it will maintain prudent monetary policy to prevent inflation from spreading.

In a third-quarter policy report released today, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) also said it will look to significantly lower real interest rates through reforms.

It said the weighted average lending rate fell 4 basis points in third quarter to 5.62 per cent

It also said it is looking at plans to switch the benchmark rate for existing loans to the new loan prime rate (LPR) that was launched in August. — Reuters