According to the report from the European Central Bank (ECB), in August, the M3 monetary aggregate rose by 2.9% per year after increasing by 2.3% per annum in July. Economists had expected growth to accelerate to 2.6% per annum. It was the 9th increase in a row and the strongest growth since February 2023.
Meanwhile, the narrower M1 aggregate, which includes money in circulation and overnight deposits, fell by 2.1% per annum, slowing compared to July (-3.1%). The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) decreased to 10.6% from 11.4% in July. The annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) increased to 22.0% from 21.4% in July.
Looking at the components' contributions to the annual growth rate of M3, the M1 contributed -1.4% (compared to -2.1% in July), short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) contributed 3.0% (compared to 3.2% in July) and marketable instruments (M3-M2) contributed 1.3% (compared to 1.2% in July).
The data also showed that the private loans rose by 0.6% per year after an increase of 0.5% in July. Economists also expected an increase of 0.6% per annum. The latest increase was the strongest since October 2023. Lending to companies grew by 0.8% per year, accelerating compared to July (+0.6%).