According to the report from the European Central Bank (ECB), in February, the M3 monetary aggregate rose by 4.0% per year after increasing by 3.8% per year in January (revised from +3.6%). Economists had expected a 3.8% increase. It was the 15th increase in a row and the strongest growth since December 2022.
Meanwhile, the narrower M1 aggregate, which includes money in circulation and overnight deposits, grew by 3.5% per year, accelerating compared to January (+2.7%). The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) decreased to 2.0% from 3.3% in January. The annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) increased to 19.8% from 17.3% in January.
Looking at the components' contributions to the annual growth rate of M3, the M1 contributed 2.2% (compared to 1.7% in January), short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) contributed 0.6% (compared to 1.0% in January) and marketable instruments (M3-M2) contributed 1.3% (compared to 1.1% in January).
The data also showed that the private loans rose by 1.5% per year after an increase of 1.3% in January. Economists expected an increase of 1.4% per annum. The latest increase was the strongest since June 2023. Lending to companies grew by 2.2% per year, accelerating compared to January (+2.0%).