SINGAPORE - Bank lending in Singapore inched lower in January from the previous month, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday (Feb 28) showed.

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies, but mainly reflects Singapore-dollar lending - stood at S$651 billion in January, compared to S$652 billion in December.

Business loans fell 0.6 per cent to S$387 billion in January from a month ago, as compared to the 0.8 per cent decrease in December.

Consumer loans grew from a month ago by 0.4 per cent to S$263 billion in January. It likewise rose 0.4 per cent in December.

From a year ago, bank lending in January was up 5.4 per cent. This was a shade weaker than the 5.6 per cent year-on-year growth in December.