Gold Prices Fall Amid Rate Jitters; Copper Steady as China Stimulus Eyed 
Chinese banks extended 948.7 billion yuan (HK$1.1 trillion) in net new yuan loans in August, beating expectations and more than double the previous month’s tally. Data suggests Beijing is keeping its economy stimulated, and preventing a credit crunch gripping its banking sector.
The central bank has pledged to keep policy slightly loose, but it might be reluctant to cut interest rates or bank reserves again in the near term amid evidence that companies and banks are hoarding cash instead of investing it.
M1 money supply measure which covers liquid assets such as cash and demand deposits, grew 25.3 percent year over year in August, compared with a 25.4 percent pace posted a month earlier. A surge in M1 in recent months has been a sign that companies and individuals would rather hoard cash than spend it, to wait out uncertain economic times.
China's broadest measure of money supply, M2, was up 11.4 percent at the end of August from a year earlier, higher than the 10.2 percent rise at the end of July. August tally was also above the median 10.4 percent increase forecast by the poll of economists. The PBOC is aiming for annual M2 growth of around 13 per cent this year.
Divergence between M1 and M2 money supply growth remained stable. Household loans, mostly mortgages, accounted for 71 per cent of total new bank loans in August, down from more than 90 per cent in July, data showed.
