Eurozone money supply grew at a slightly slower pace in February and loans to the private sector logged a faster expansion, the European Central Bank said on Friday.
The broad monetary aggregate M3 grew 6.3 percent in February, in line with expectations, after rising 6.4 percent in January.
In the three months up to February, M3 growth averaged 6.6 percent.
As regards the dynamics of credit, the annual growth rate of total credit to euro area residents held steady at 6.2 percent in February. Credit to general government rose 10.7 percent.
Data showed that credit to the private sector was up 4.3 percent, the same rate as in January. At the same time, the adjusted loans to the private sector grew 4.8 percent, faster than the 4.6 percent rise in January.
Among the borrowing sectors, the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households improved to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent. And adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased 4.4 percent in February, unchanged from the previous month.
