China's money supply grew faster than the central bank's targeted rate for a ninth straight month in September, which may prompt the bank to take additional action to curb lending in coming months.

M2, the broadest measure of money supply rose 20.7 percent from a year earlier to 21.4 trillion yuan (US$2.6 trillion), after climbing a record 21.6 percent in August, the People's Bank of China said in a report on its Website. That's more than the 18 percent growth targeted by the bank.

(Shanghai Daily October 17, 2003)