China's new yuan loans up in April

BEIJING - China's new yuan-denominated lending in April hit 707.9 billion yuan ($114.18 billion), up 185.5 billion yuan from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday.

M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 10.1 percent year on year to 128.08 trillion yuan at the end of April, according to data released by the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, rose 3.7 percent year on year to 33.64 trillion yuan at the end of April.

Total outstanding loans stood at 92.24 trillion yuan at the end of last month, up 13.4 percent from the previous year, while outstanding deposits stood at 129.9 trillion yuan at the end of April, up 10 percent year on year.

The data comes as China's central bank cut interest rates from Monday, the third rate cut in six months, in the face of inflationary pressure and economic headwinds.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.5 percent year on year in April, slightly higher than 1.4 percent in March and 0.8 percent in January, when CPI was at its lowest level in more than five years.

The producer price index (PPI), a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate and a leading indicator of CPI movements, plunged 4.6 percent year on year in April, marking a 38th straight month of declines and suggesting anemic market demand.

The economy expanded 7 percent in the first quarter - the lowest quarterly growth since 2009, but outpacing most major economies. The slowdown came amid government efforts to make the economic growth model more sustainable.