PBOC: M2 growth target 17%

The People's Bank of China says it will continue to implement a moderately easy monetary policy this year.

In its quarterly report, the bank set this year's target for M2 that's its broad measure of money supply at 17 percent growth.

The bank says it will gradually guide policy towards more normal conditions, and away from precautionary anti-crisis mechanisms. It will keep an eye on prices and avoid financial risks.

The report says the bank will also strengthen liquidity management, while keeping reasonable and appropriate liquidity and fostering growth of money supply and credit.

The central bank also reported that the M1 measure of money supply surged to 39 percent in January, its fastest rise in more than a decade.