Further adjustment in monetary policy possible

BEIJING -- China has acted fast amid the global financial crisis to ease its monetary policy that is beginning to take effect, said central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan on Friday.

China has shifted from a tight monetary policy implemented in early 2008 to a moderately easy monetary policy as the international financial turmoil spread in the later half of the year, he told a press conference on the sidelines of the parliament's annual session.

The increase in new loans in January was "out of our expectation", he said, noting moderate adjustment in the future could keep it in a reasonable range.

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