Lending to companies and households in the Eurozone slightly accelerated in April, and the money supply improved sharply, preliminary data from the European Central Bank (ECB) showed, reflecting the impact of lower interest rates.
In April, loans to companies increased by 2.6 percent compared to the same month last year, the strongest growth since July 2023. In March, they were up by 2.4 percent, according to revised data.
At the beginning of spring, the pace of lending to households also accelerated, with a growth rate of 1.9 percent in April, the highest since June 2023. In March, lending was increased by 1.7 percent.
The M1 money supply indicator, which includes money in circulation and overnight deposits, increased by 4.7 percent in April, the strongest growth since October 2022. In March, it had risen by a revised 3.9 percent. The nearly two-year period of decline ended in October 2024, the data shows. In August 2023, the money supply had decreased by as much as 10.4 percent.
The broadest measure of the money supply, the M3 monetary aggregate, rose by 3.9 percent in April, the strongest increase since the end of 2022, according to the ECB report published on Friday. In March, it had increased, according to revised data, by 3.7 percent.
