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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 8472
Contents Publication in full By article 33 / 41
GENERAL NEWS / (eu) eu/economy

Record growth in money supply in Euro zone

Brussels, 28/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - While it was forecasted that investors progressively cease amassing liquidities, the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed on Wednesday that the money supply M3 had experienced unprecedented growth in April. The rise in M3 money supply as an annual change reached 8.7% in April, after 7.9% in March, while, on average over three months, it rose from 7.7 to 8.2%. The figures for money supply should not significantly influence decisions on interest rates that the ECB must take on 5 June (yesterday's EUROPE, p. 14), to the extent that it minimises the importance of this aggregate by insisting on the long-term nature of this inflation suggesting indicator. At the same time, the ECB has noted the growth in lending, which could indicate that the Euro Zone economy is on the verge of a recovery, according to certain economists. Loans granted to residents of the Euro zone rose by 4.7% last month compared to April 2002, after an increase of 4.1% in March. The annual increase in private sector loans totalled 5% against 4.7% one month earlier.

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