BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's new yuan-denominated loans in March expanded to 1.12 trillion yuan (about 177.8 billion U.S. dollars), 93.4 billion yuan more than the same period a year earlier, central bank data showed Friday.
The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, grew 8.2 percent year on year, compared with an 8.8-percent increase a month earlier, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said in a statement.
"The slower growth was mostly due to seasonal and short-term factors, and the market should not be overly attentive to it," said Ruan Jianhong, a PBOC official.
The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, rose 7.1 percent year on year to 52.35 trillion yuan at the end of March. The growth rate was 11.7 percentage points down from a year ago.
M0, the amount of cash in circulation, rose 6 percent to 7.27 trillion yuan.
Total social finance, a broad measure of funds that non-financial firms and households get from the financial system, increased by 5.58 trillion yuan in the first quarter, 1.33 trillion yuan less than a year earlier.
Chinese banks loaned a total of 4.86 trillion yuan in Q1, 633.9 billion yuan more than the same period a year ago.
During the same period, new loans to households, mainly used for home purchases, stood at 1.75 trillion yuan, while new loans to non-financial enterprises, government agencies, and non-profit institutions reached 3.09 trillion yuan.
In the first quarter, new yuan deposits totaled 5.06 trillion yuan, 7.7 billion yuan more than the same period last year.
By the end of March, total outstanding loans in both yuan and non-yuan currencies rose 11.9 percent year on year to 130.45 trillion yuan, while outstanding deposits climbed 8.4 percent to 174.44 trillion yuan.
In the first quarter, yuan-denominated cross-border trade settlement reached 1.06 trillion yuan, and direct investment settled in yuan totaled 684.46 billion yuan, according to the PBOC.
