Eurozone lending improves in June

[FRANKFURT] Lending to eurozone households and firms picked up slightly in June, European Central Bank data showed on Monday.

Loans to the private sector in June grew by 0.6 per cent on the year, compared with a rate of 0.5 per cent in May. The June result was in line with expectations in a Reuters poll.

Sparse lending to companies had dogged the struggling eurozone economy although the picture has been improving since late 2014 and policy setters including ECB President Mario Draghi believe that the bloc is recovering.

The M3 measure of money circulating in the eurozone, which is often an early indicator of future economic activity, grew by 5.0 per cent in June, in line with the previous month, the ECB said.

REUTERS