China’s credit unexpectedly shrank in April, reflecting weak borrowing demand as the central bank refrained from easing monetary policy. Aggregate financing, a broad measure of credit, was 12.7 trillion yuan ($1.8 trillion) in the first four months of the year, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China on Saturday. That dropped from 12.9 trillion yuan in the first quarter, and compared with the median estimate of 13.9 trillion yuan among economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Financial institutions offered 10.2 trillion yuan of new loans through April, versus a projected 10.4 trillion yuan. April is ... (full story)