, Columnist
What China's $30 Trillion Credit Pile Doesn’t Tell You
Monthly data align poorly with business activity. For a better gauge of where things are headed, keep an eye on borrowing cycles.
Full steam ahead?
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Investors are at it again, sorting through the heap of China’s credit data.
Last month’s aggregate social-financing numbers, released Sunday, show the flow of new credit in (and around) the financial system fell 41 percent in February from a year earlier. Retail loans posted their largest monthly drop on record. Companies continued to struggle with working-capital financing; bonds were the main channel of funding.