China's central bank on Monday lowered the interest rate on its regular reverse repurchase open market operations for the first time since October 2015, aiming to boost market confidence and prop up slowing growth.

The People's Bank of China said on its website that it cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate to 2.5% from 2.55%. The central bank also injected a net 180 billion yuan of cash into the monetary system via open market operations.

China's October economic and financial data fell across the board, while food prices continued to rise even as core inflation remained weak. Analysts said that with the downward pressure on the economy, the need to cut interest rates is rising.