China’s central bank announced the second cut to the bank reserve requirement ratio in about two months. It was the latest measure seeking to spur the country’s economy.

The People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Sunday that the ratio – indicating the amount of customer deposits and notes that the banks must hold as reserves rather than lend out – would be lowered by one percentage point to 18.5 percent, effective from Monday.

The aim is to stimulate more lending into the nation’s slowing economy.

“Although the [economic] growth in the first quarter met the official target of about 7 percent for 2015, the slowdown in several areas, including industrial output and retail sales, has caused some concern,” Chinese-state-run news agency Xinhua reported after the announcement of the central bank.

The Chinese government last cut the reserve ratio on February 4; by 50 basis points, the first cut in more than two years. Apart from lowering the reserve ratio, China’s central bank has also reduced interest rates twice since November 2014, lowering borrowing costs to spur the economy.