China's yuan loans grow 5.61 trln yuan in first two months

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- China's yuan-denominated loans rose 5.61 trillion yuan (about 812.96 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of the year, central bank data showed on Friday.

At the end of February, outstanding yuan loans amounted to 277.52 trillion yuan, up 6 percent year on year, according to the People's Bank of China.

The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased by 9 percent year on year to 349.22 trillion yuan by the end of last month.

The M1, which covers cash in circulation, demand deposits and client reserves of non-bank payment institutions, stood at 115.93 trillion yuan at the end of February, up 5.9 percent year on year.

Friday's data also showed that the outstanding aggregate financing to the real economy stood at 451.4 trillion yuan at the end of last month, growing 8.2 percent year on year.

The aggregate financing to the real economy was 9.6 trillion yuan in the first two months, which was 316.2 billion yuan more than the same period last year.

The relatively fast growth of M2 and aggregate financing to the real economy has continued to provide a suitable monetary and financial environment for economic recovery, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.

China will continue to apply an appropriately accommodative monetary policy in 2026, according to this year's government work report. ■