Data from China on credit in April, via Bloomberg Economics (gated), shows it shrank for the first time
- government bond sales slowed, more government bonds were repaid than sold in the month
- loan expansion was worse than expected in a sign of weak demand
Aggregate financing is a broad measure of credit. It fell by almost 200 billion yuan in April from March
- the first time the measure has declined since comparable data began in 2017
- looking back further, using a smaller data set that excludes things like government funding, it was the first decrease since October 2005
- financing from shadow banking (activities outside the formal banking system) also fell
– also recorded a drop, weighing on overall credit.
Financial institutions offered 731 billion yuan
- lower thann projected 916 bn
Growth rate of outstanding loans edged down to 9.1% y/y, from 9.2% in March
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Coming up from China to make up somewhat for this slow down is:
Also from China over the weekend: