China’s Credit Demand Slumps to Weakest in Almost Five Years Amid Covid Lockdowns

(Bloomberg) — China’s loan growth weakened sharply in April to the worst level in almost five years, with mortgage loans contracting again as Covid lockdowns and the property market slump disrupted economic activity and sapped borrowing demand.

Financial institutions offered 645 billion yuan ($94.9 billion) of new loans in the month, down from 3.1 trillion yuan in March, the People’s Bank of China said Friday. That was the lowest level since December 2017 and less than half the estimate of 1.5 trillion yuan.