The PBOC's monthly aggregates. M2 growth alone says little — it mostly mirrors the liability side of credit creation; the information is in the mix: M1's strength relative to M2 (the scissors gap) captures whether firms and households want money in spendable form, and has historically correlated far better with nominal activity and asset prices.
M0 is currency in circulation, M1 is narrow money (M0 + demand deposits), and M2 is broad money (M1 + time deposits, savings deposits, and other deposits). These are the PBOC's primary monetary aggregates published monthly.
Why it matters: The M1-M2 scissors gap (M1 growth minus M2 growth) is a key signal for economic activity and capital market liquidity. Widening M2 with stagnant M1 means funds are parked in time deposits rather than circulating — the persistently negative gap after 2022 was the monetary mirror of deficient demand, and a re-widening of M1 over M2 has historically been an early signal of nominal-growth repair.
Definition note: Starting with the January 2025 data, the PBOC redefined M1 to include personal demand deposits and customer reserves held at non-bank payment institutions (previously M1 covered only corporate demand deposits). The new M1 is larger and smoother; the PBOC back-computed comparable YoY rates through the transition, but be careful when comparing levels across the 2024/2025 break.