China’s new bank loans drop to lowest level in almost two years in October as manufacturers feel the pinch

• Banks extended 661.3 billion yuan (US$94.5 billion) in net new loans last month, sharply down from 1.69 trillion yuan (US$241.5 billion) in September
• National aggregate financing at the end of last month totalled 618.9 billion yuan (US$88.5 billion), down from 2.27 trillion yuan (US$324.4 billion) in September