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China New Loans Plunge to 2009 Low in Sign of Weak Recovery
Chinese banks extended the smallest amount of monthly loans since 2009 in July, a further sign of weak demand in the world’s second-largest economy that raises the risk of prolonged deflation pressure. New loans reached 345.9 billion yuan in July, the People’s Bank of China said Friday, less than half the 780 billion yuan economists had forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, was 528.2 billion yuan last month, also well below estimates. “It is a big disappointment, proving the fragile status of the recovery in China,” said Kiyong Seong, lead Asia macro strategist at ... (full story)