A nice surprise: China's credit data soars high

Total new Yuan loan grew CNY2.46tn in the first quarter, up from CNY2.26tn in Q1 2011.

This completely reverses weak credit picture in the first two months, suggesting that capital inflows in March may not be as weak as expected.

Here's more from OCBC Treasury Research:

China released surprisingly strong credit data yesterday. Chinese banks extended CNY1tn new Yuan loan in March beating market expectation of CNY800bn.

Total New Yuan loan grew CNY2.46tn in the first quarter, up from CNY2.26tn in Q1 2011, completely reversing weak credit picture in the first two months thanks to removal of certain restrictions on local government debt rollover.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign exchange reserves rose further to US$3.3tn at end of Q1, up from US$3.2tn in spite of weak capital inflows. This suggests capital inflows in March may not be as weak as expected previously. As a result, China’s M2 growth rebounded to 13.4% yoy from 12.9% yoy in February. The stronger than expected credit may pose today’s China Q1 GPD to upside surprise.

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