China's M2 at record-low expansion in July

China’s broader money supply expanded at a record-low pace in July while credit growth continued to pick up, as the country continues with its slow path toward slimming down a supercharged economy, Caixin reports. In July, the M2 grew 9.2% from a year earlier to 162.9 trillion yuan ($24.43 trillion), the People’s Bank of China said Tuesday. Economists had expected a 9.5% increase from a previous record-low 9.4% increase in June. For most of 2016, the growth rate of M2 was above 11.5%. The outstanding value of bank loans stood at 115.4 trillion yuan as of the end of last month, up 13.2% from the same period in 2016. The outstanding total social financing, the PBOC’s measure of broader credit, increased by 12.4 trillion yuan in July and up by 21.1% from a year ago. Regulators in China have been stepping up efforts to rein in excess lending and borrowing in a bid to guard again systemic risks.