China sees rare drop in bank loans in Jul amid weak borrowing demand, overall credit growth falls short

China's credit activity slumped in July, with new Yuan loans posting a rare net decline -- the lowest on record -- amid weak demand from businesses and households. Aggregate social financing (ASF) grew by Yuan 1.16 trillion ($161.7 billion) for the month, short of forecasts, as government bond issuance continued to dominate financing flows and bill financing masked underlying softness in real economy credit.

In the first seven months of the year, China's Yuan loans increased by Yuan 12.87 trillion, and the cumulative increase in total social financing (TSF) was Yuan 23.99 trillion, Yuan 5.12 trillion more than the same period last year, according to the data released by the People's Bank of