BEIJING -- China's new yuan-denominated loans surged in June as the government moved to buoy the slowing economy.

The June new yuan-denominated loans rose 285.9 billion yuan ($45 billion) year-on-year to 919.8 billion yuan, the People's Bank of China, or the central bank, announced Thursday.

PBOC data showed that new yuan-denominated loans in June hit a three-month high after reaching 1.01 trillion yuan in March.

M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 13.6 percent year-on-year to 92.5 trillion yuan at the end of June.

The growth was faster than the 13.2-percent rate a month earlier, but lower than the 14-percent annual target set by the government for 2012.

Preliminary data shows the country's social financing, a measure of funds raised by entities in the real economy, totaled 7.78 trillion yuan in the first six months, 13.5 billion yuan more than the same period of 2011.

Last week, the central bank cut the benchmark interest rates for the second time in a month to stabilize growth in the country.