China's new yuan loans shrink in February

BEIJING — Chinese banks extended 1.17 trillion yuan ($169.2 billion) in new yuan loans in February, down from 2.03 trillion yuan a month ago, central bank data showed Thursday.

The increase was 439 billion yuan more than that of the same period last year, according to a People's Bank of China (PBOC) online statement.

By the end of last month, total outstanding yuan-denominated loans stood at 109.8 trillion yuan, up 13 percent from the previous year.

The M2, a broad measure of the money supply covering cash in circulation and all deposits, grew 11.1 percent from a year earlier to about 158.29 trillion yuan.

The M1, a narrow measure of the money supply that covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, rose 21.4 percent year on year to 47.65 trillion yuan.

M0, the amount of cash in circulation, stood at 7.17 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.3 percent.

According to the government work report delivered at the annual parliamentary session, China will pursue a prudent and neutral monetary policy in 2017, with the M2 money supply to grow by around 12 percent, one percentage point lower than the 2016 target.

PBOC data also showed yuan-denominated deposits rose 2.31 trillion yuan in February, an increase of 1.46 trillion yuan from a year earlier. Outstanding deposits in both yuan and non-yuan currencies rose 11.7 percent year on year to 159.56 trillion yuan.

Last month, yuan-denominated cross-border trade settlement reached 286 billion yuan. Direct investment settled in yuan stood at 53.7 billion yuan, the central bank said.