China's bank lending exceeded economists' expectations in May, and money supply growth accelerated suggesting improvement in liquidity, data from the People's Bank of China showed Monday. Local currency loans totaled CNY 793.2 billion in May compared to CNY 681.8 billion in April. May's lending was well above the consensus forecast of CNY 700 billion. Outstanding loans at the end of May came in at CNY 58.72 trillion, up 15.7 percent. M2, broad money supply grew at a pace of 13.2 percent year-on-year in May, faster than the 12.9 percent expansion expected by economists. At the same time, total social financing aggregate, another measure of liquidity, increased to CNY 1.14 trillion from CNY 959.6 billion in April. In an unexpected move, the central bank last Thursday cut its benchmark interest rates for the first time since 2008. The People's Bank of China also reduced its lending rate by a quarter point. The rate cut also triggered concerns that the economy may be weakening more than previously expected.