BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese banks extended 3.89 trillion yuan ($565 billion) in new yuan loans in March, up sharply from February and surpassing analysts’ expectations.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted new yuan loans would rise to 3.24 trillion yuan last month, versus 1.81 trillion yuan in February.
Broad M2 money supply grew 12.7% in March from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Tuesday, in line with estimates of 12.7% in the Reuters poll.
M2 rose 12.9% in February.
Outstanding yuan loans grew 11.8% in March from a year earlier compared with 11.6% growth the previous month. Analysts had expected 11.7% growth.
($1 = 6.8846 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Judy Hua and Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
