China's Yuan loan growth falls in April

In a statement on Tuesday, the central bank said that the Yuan loan growth fell in April as the pandemic jolted the economy and weakened credit demand, and China's financial regulators pledged to keep credit growth stable in the property sector and help homebuyers affected by COVID 19 outbreaks.

Household loans contracted by 217 billion yuan US $32.6 billion pointing to a deep freeze in the property market, a pillar of the economy.

The real estate sector, weakened by regulatory measures to curb excessive borrowing last year, has remained sluggish despite efforts by local governments this year to boost demand via cuts in mortgage rates, smaller down payments and subsidies.

The People's Bank of China PBOC said in a statement on its website that it would use various tools to increase credit and support economic growth.

It would help small businesses, home businesses and truck drivers, as well as homebuyers and consumers hurt by the impact of COVID 19 control measures, to defer paying their mortgages and other loans.

In a statement, the PBOC said it would guide financial institutions to go all out to boost lending.

In April, China's economic activity plunged as widespread lockdown measures confined workers and consumers to their homes and severely disrupted supply chains, leading economists to revise their GDP growth forecasts for the world's second-biggest economy.

China on Friday reduced its benchmark reference rate for mortgages by an unexpectedly wide margin, a few days after a cut in mortgage interest rates for some homebuyers, in an effort to prop up the property market.

On Tuesday, a poll showed that China's property market woes are likely to worsen this year with prices remaining flat and sales and investment falling further, while tighter and widespread pandemic curbs weigh on fragile demand despite more policy easing.