China January new bank loans surge to 5.13 trillion yuan, beat expectations

BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Chinese banks extended 5.13 trillion yuan ($706.40 billion) in new yuan loans in January, up sharply from December, outpacing analysts' forecasts and hitting an all-time high, as the central bank looks to shore up a patchy recovery in the country's economy.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted new yuan loans would rise to 4.5 trillion yuan last month, up sharply from 990 billion yuan in December and compared with 4.92 trillion yuan a year earlier - the previous record.

Broad M2 money supply grew 7.0% from a year earlier, data from the People's Bank of China showed on Friday, below analysts' 7.2% forecast in a Reuters poll. In December, M2 expanded 7.3%.

Outstanding yuan loans rose 7.5% in January from a year earlier, down from the 7.6% pace in December. Analysts had expected 7.3% growth.

($1 = 7.2622 Chinese yuan renminbi)