BREAKING: China’s Net New Loans Plunge $50.4 Billion in July

China’s net new loans fell by $50.4 billion in July, marking only the third monthly decline this century. The drop was more than three times larger than expected.
Loans extended to the real economy fell even more sharply, with net repayments of $87.5 billion, the largest monthly decline in data going back to 2002.
Aggregate financing, a broader measure of total credit, increased by $207.7 billion, but nearly all of the gain came from $192.9 billion in government bond sales rather than private lending.
Corporate and household longer-term loans also declined, reflecting weak investment appetite and property demand. The data point to a sharp deterioration in China’s economic activity.