It also left unchanged the 0.1% interest it charges to a portion of excess reserves financial institutions park with the central bank.
And China has reined in bank lending by instructing large, state-owned banks to set aside a greater portion of their reserves.
On Wednesday, Beijing stepped up its efforts to damp rapid growth, once again instructing banks to set aside a greater portion of their reserves.
But Mr. Paterson and his aides point out that most districts could cover the cuts with only a relatively small portion of their reserves.
Japan's central bank followed in January, announcing that it would charge commercial banks a fee of 0.1percentt on a portion of their reserves that they keep with it.
At the same time, the lending banks were reluctant to demand repayment of their loans, which would have led to default and losses that would have wiped out a substantial portion of their reserves.
On Sunday, the authorities instructed large state-owned banks to set aside a greater portion of their reserves — a move that restricts the amount that they can lend out, serving as a break to loan-fueled activities.
Rather than raise interest rates outright, the country's central bank has instructed state-owned banks to set aside a larger portion of their reserves — a move that limits the amount they can lend to consumers and businesses.
Last fall, the climate advocacy group 350.org held a series of rallies in 21 cities across the U.S., making the case that combating climate change requires fossil fuel companies to leave a large portion of their reserves in the ground — and that large-scale divestment by their shareholders could help convince them to do so.
The government has also instructed state-owned banks to cut back on the amount of loans they are making, and to set aside a larger portion of their reserves, a measure that restricts the amount of money the banks can lend.
Transition zone in the reservoir may hold a substantial portion of oil reserves in place.
