BEIJING - China's central bank on Friday announced a cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 0.5 percentage points for financial institutions.

Starting Friday, the weighted average RRR for lenders will come to around 6.6 percent, while those having already implemented a 5 percent RRR will not be involved, according to a statement of the People's Bank of China.

The central bank adheres to a supportive monetary policy with a strengthened intensity and more targeted regulation to create a sound monetary and financial environment for stable economic growth and high-quality development, the statement said.

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This RRR cut was first disclosed by central bank governor Pan Gongsheng at a press conference Tuesday. Pan said the RRR may be lowered further by 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points within the year depending on the liquidity situation.

It came as part of the country's recent stimulus package to boost the economy, which also includes measures to support the property sector and the capital market.  

The central bank also cut the interest rate of seven-day reverse repos from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent.

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The move aims to intensify counter-cyclical adjustment of the monetary policy and support the stable economic growth of the country, according to a statement.

The interest rate of 14-day reverse repos and those of temporary repos and reverse repos will continue to be determined by the interest rate of seven-day reverse repos in the open market, and the range of adjustment will remain unchanged.

The central bank conducted 278 billion yuan (about $39.66 billion) of 14-day reverse repos on Friday at an interest rate of 1.65 percent, 20 basis points lower than the previous day.

A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.