Chinese monetary data for July was weak across the board, suggesting that Beijing’s efforts to galvanise new lending are not having the intended effect. Chinese banks extended 1.06 trillion yuan (US$150.17 billion) in net new loans last month, down from 1.66 trillion yuan (US$235.17 billion) in June, according to the data released by the People’s Bank of China on Monday. July’s lending was well below the 1.25 trillion added bank credit predicted by a Bloomberg survey of economists, and was the lowest level since April, when banks issued 1.02 trillion yuan in new loans. The slump raises questions over the need for ... (full story)