SINGAPORE, June 20 Reuters The yuan slipped toward sevenmonth lows on Tuesday as China cut lending benchmarks, while the Australian dollar fell after its latest central bank meeting minutes showed keeping interest rates unchanged had been under consideration.

China on Tuesday lowered its oneyear and fiveyear loan prime rates LPR by 10 basis points, the first such easing in 10 months as authorities seek to shore up a slowing economic recovery.

The decision knocked the yuan lower in Asian trading and it last fell 0.2 in onshore trade to 7.1775 per dollar, not far from last week39;s nearly sevenmonth low of 7.1819.

Similarly, the offshore yuan was more than 0.2 lower at 7.1820 per dollar, languishing near last week39;s trough of 7.1916, its lowest since late November.

Markets were expecting bigger support and were hoping for a larger LPR cut, said OCBC currency strategist Christopher Wong. The delivery of a smaller LPR cut came as a signal of lesser support and the disappointment was felt in softer yuan.

Investors continue to be on the lookout for greater government support measures, as a faltering postpandemic recovery has kept sentiment fragile.

The playbook may be slightly different, in a sense that it39;s not going to be a big bang stimulus. It39;s probably going to be more targeted, said Bank of Singapore currency strategist Moh Siong Sim.

Elsewhere, the Australian dollar tumbled more than 0.8 to a session low of 0.6789 after minutes from the Reserve Bank of…