China lending in May beats estimates

Beijing – China’s new credit lending in May beat estimates in a boost to the slowing economy, Bloomberg reported, citing official data released on Thursday. Local-currency loans hit RMB870.8 billion (US$140 billion) while M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 13.4%, compared with a median projection for 13.1%.

“May is the first month this year we’ve seen a sizable easing of liquidity as evidenced by the strong new bank loans,” said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. “It suggests that policy makers are turning more serious about the downside risks to the economy and began ramping up pro-growth measures.” Source: China Economic Review