Link | The European Central Bank (ECB) published yesterday that in the Eurozone the monetary aggregate M3 rebounded 0.1% year-on-year in January (+0.2% in December), below the 0.3% increase expected by FactSet analysts.
In addition, and also according to ECB data, bank lending to households in the euro area increased by 0.3% at a year-on-year rate in January (+0.4% in December) to €6.87 billion, slightly less than the 0.4% increase expected by analysts. January’s is the slowest pace of year-on-year growth in this variable since March 2015. Loans to companies increased by 0.2% year-on-year in the euro area in January (+0.5% in December). December).
Thus, the overall growth of credit to the private sector, which includes both households and non-financial corporations, stood at 0.4%, unchanged from the previous month.
Assessment: credit growth to the private sector continued to decelerate in January, something that the ECB has been pursuing with its tight monetary policy in order to combat high inflation. This slowdown in credit growth in the region is, in turn, having the impact sought by the ECB on the region’s economic growth.
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