PBOC to stem excess loan growth

In its first quarter monetary policy report, the People's Bank of China said it would work to control the country's loan growth, as the growing trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves threaten to compromise the effectiveness of the bank's monetary policy. The growing forex reserves have created a growing local money supply, which the PBOC is trying to rein in to prevent an overheated economy. China's central bank also said inflationary pressures "still deserve attention", as producer prices rose faster in the first quarter than they did last year, state media reported.