FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone business loan growth slowed in December for the second month in a row, ending the biggest surge in borrowing in more than a decade as rising rates interest rates and fears of a possible recession appear to be taking hold, European Central Bank (ECB) data released on Friday showed.
Business loan growth rose to 6.3% in December from 8.3% in November, while household credit growth slowed to 3.8% from 4.1%.
The monthly flow of corporate loans fell sharply in December and stood at -16 billion euros, against -4 billion euros a month earlier.
The annual growth rate of M3 money supply, which reflects the cash circulating in the eurozone economy, slowed to 4.1% from 4.8%, a figure well below the Reuters consensus, which the gave 4.6%.
(Report Balazs Koranyi; French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)
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