Money supply slows as deleveraging gains ground

Slower growth in China's money supply will become common as the country continues its deleveraging efforts under tighter regulations, experts said.

By the end of last year, the M2, a broad measure of the money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 8.2 percent to 167.68 trillion yuan ($26 trillion), this was the slowest pace since 1994 when it was calculated the first time in China, according to data from the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

M2 growth dropped from 11.3 percent at the end of 2016, ending the double-digit rates seen in the previous 20-plus years.