BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China's new yuan-denominated lending stood at 2.76 trillion yuan (441 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, up 294.9 billion yuan year on year, the People's Bank of China announced on Thursday.

New loans denominated in foreign currencies stood at 70.9 billion U.S. dollars, the People's Bank of China said in an online statement.

It said that the country's social financing, a measure of funds raised by entities in the real economy, amounted to 6.16 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 2.27 trillion yuan from the same period last year.