China's new loans surge in June, raising inflation concerns

 BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China's new yuan-denominated loans surged in June as the government moved to buoy¹ the slowing economy, raising concerns that fast credit growth will push up inflation.

June's new yuan-denominated loans rose by 285.9 billion yuan (about 45 billion U.S. dollars) year on year to 919.8 billion yuan, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank, announced Thursday.

PBOC data showed that new yuan-denominated loans in June hit a three-month high after reaching 1.01 trillion yuan in March.

"Banks lent more because the government relaxed its grip on credit controls," said Peng Wensheng, chief economist² with China International Capital Corporation Ltd.

In the latest sign of credit easing, the central bank last week cut benchmark interest rates for the second time in a month. It had previously³ lowered the reserve requirement ratio three times before the rate cut.

China's economy slowed to a nearly-three-year low of 8.1 percent in the first quarter, dampened by a self-directed slowdown in investment projects and lackluster exports.

Chinese customs announced weak foreign trade data on Tuesday, raising concerns that the world's second-largest economy is certain to have slowed further in the second quarter.

Premier⁴ Wen Jiabao said Tuesday that stabilizing⁵ economic growth is the most pressing matter currently facing China. He said policies and measures to stabilize⁶ economic growth currently include boosting consumption, diversifying⁷ exports and promoting investment.

PBOC data showed that M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 13.6 percent year on year to 92.5 trillion yuan at the end of June.

The growth was faster than the 13.2-percent rate registered a month earlier, but lower than the 14-percent annual target set by the government for 2012.

Preliminary data showed that the country's social financing, a measure of funds raised by entities⁸ in the real economy, totaled 7.78 trillion yuan in the first six months, 13.5 billion yuan more than that in the same period last year.

The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, climbed 4.7 percent year on year to 28.75 trillion yuan at the end of June. The rise was 1.2 percentage points higher than that of a month earlier.

"The government should take inflationary risks into consideration," said Lian Ping, chief economist with the Bank of Communications, adding that the country's inflation might pick up at the end of the year.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge⁹ of inflation, eased to a 29-month low of 2.2 percent in June, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau will update figures for China's gross domestic product for the second quarter on Friday. The GDP is widely expected to slow further to around 7.5 percent for a sixth straight quarterly moderation.

Peng said the low inflation level is giving the central bank ample room to further loosen monetary¹⁰ policies.

Ba Shusong, an economist with the Development Research Center of the State Council, or China's cabinet, said China should take necessary measures to manage inflation expectations at a time when it is also loosening its monetary policy.

"China's huge monetary stimulation¹¹ plan after the financial crisis (in 2008) did bring about a 'V-shaped' recovery, but monetary expansion in other economies and the surging price of energy and other commodities directly caused China's higher-than-expected inflation," Ba said.

Lian said that it is highly probable that China's inflation will accelerate later this year, although inflation has eased to 29-month low.

The PBOC data also showed that the balance of China's foreign reserves stood at 3.24 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of June, down 65 billion U.S. dollars compared with the end of March.

1 buoy   

n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
• The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

8 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

10 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

11 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。