New credit falls in April

China’s broadest measure for new credit fell as senior officials resisted calls for monetary stimulus, Bloomberg reported, citing official data. Aggregate financing fell from RMB1.55 trillion (US$249 billion) in April to RMB2.07 trillion in March. New local-currency bank loans were RMB774.7 billion, down from RMB1.05 trillion the previous month. Even as a bearish property market and poor manufacturing data threaten to slow China’s economy, the reluctance to issue new credit suggests the country’s leaders are willing to accept lower growth rates.