New loans to increase 5.5% year-on-year: survey

New loans in January are expected to reach 1.13 trillion yuan ($186 billion), up 5.5 percent year-on-year, China Business News reported on Tuesday.

A recent survey by China Business News suggested a softening growth momentum, with the Chief Economists' Confidence Index dropping to 50.2 from 50.8 in January.

"The total social financing this year will most likely grow at a slower pace from last year," said Liu Hongke, chief economist of CCB International, adding that the new loan volume in the first two months should be counted as a whole, due to the Spring Festival holiday.

Chief economists from 22 major financial institutions project that the Consumer Price Index, an gauge of inflation, will grow 2.3 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from December, according to the research.