China’s Loan Growth Drops to New Low on Weak Credit Demand

(Bloomberg) — Loan growth in China fell to a record low last month, overshadowing an unexpected pickup in credit and suggesting that borrowing demand remains weak in the world’s second-largest economy.

A measure of domestic loan growth expanded by 10.4% year-on-year in January, according to data published Friday by the People’s Bank of China, the slowest pace in monthly data going back to 2003. Aggregate financing — the widest measure of credit in the economy — rose 9.5%, unchanged from December.