Brussels, July 27, (dpa-AFX/GNA) - Eurozone money supply growth slowed slightly in June and credit to the private sector logged faster growth, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday.
The broad monetary aggregate M3 grew 5.7% annually in June, slightly slower than the revised 5.8% increase in May. M3 had been forecast to grow 5.4%.
In the three months to June, M3 growth averaged 5.9%. The narrow measure M1, which includes currency in circulation and overnight deposits, logged an annual growth of 7.2%, slower than the 7.9% rise in May.
As regards the dynamics of credit, credit to euro area residents climbed 6.2% and that to general government gained 8.5%. Data showed that the annual growth rate of credit to the private sector increased to 5.2% in June, from 4.8% in May.
The annual growth rate of adjusted loans to the private sector climbed 6.1% in June, from 5.6% in May.
Among the borrowing sectors, adjusted loans to households grew 4.6% in June, unchanged from the previous month, while the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 6.8%, from 5.8%.
Bank lending growth accelerated further in June, but lenders expect the demand for loans to slow sharply in the coming months, adding to the reasons to expect the economy to fall into recession, Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
GNA