Investing.com - The euro zone's M3 money supply grew more than expected in January, while private loans declined for the 33rd consecutive month, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the European Central Bank said M3 money supply in the single currency bloc rose at annualized rate of 4.1% last month, above forecasts for a 3.7% gain. M3 money supply in the euro zone rose 3.6% in the preceding month.
Loans to private sector declined at a pace of 0.1% annually in January, compared to expectations for a 0.3% drop, after falling 0.5% in December.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1357 from around 1.1354 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7317 from 0.7316 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained mostly higher. Germany's DAX ticked up 0.1%, the EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.1%.