Central Bank: Labour Market Stabilised and Export & Import Performed Well

SHANGHAI, Aug 11 (SMM) - The People's Bank of China released today the Monetary Policy Implementation Report for the Second Quarter of 2021. According to the report, China has stick to the regular monetary policy since the outbreak of COVID, and the intensity of policy implementation in 1H has basically returned to its pre-pandemic level, maintaining a leading position in global macro policy.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 12.7% year on year in the first half of 2021, with a two-year average of 5.3%. The growth rate was 7.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, with a two-year average of 5.5%, 0.5 percentage points faster than the first quarter. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.5% year on year in the same period. The employment situation was generally stable and import & export trade performed well.

Also according to the report, M2 currency grew by 8.6% year on year at the end of June, while the stocks of social financing increased by 11% year on year. More importantly, the credit structure continued to optimise. The balance of inclusive micro loans as well as medium to long-term loans to the manufacturing sector grew at 31% and 41.6% year-on-year respectively at the end of June. The weighted average interest rate on loans was 4.93% in June, a record low since statistics were available; the weighted average interest rate on corporate loans was 4.58%, down 0.06 percentage points from a year earlier, with the comprehensive financing costs for micro and small enterprises falling steadily. The RMB exchange rate floated in both directions and remained stable at a reasonably balanced level, with the China Foreign Exchange Trade Centre (CFETS) RMB exchange rate index at 98.00 at the end of June, up 3.3% from the end of the previous year.