FRANKFURT (AFX) - Euro area adjusted M3 grew 4.7 pct year-on-year in April, up from a year-on-year growth rate of 4.6 pct in March. The three month moving average of adjusted M3 year-on-year growth rates was 4.6 pct in the February-April period compared with 4.5 pct in January-March.
The ECB said the adjusted figures exclude non-resident holdings of money market fund shares and units. The inclusion of these holdings in M3 has recently led to a growing upward distortion in headline M3 growth. .
Before adjusting for this distortion, M3 growth was 5.2 pct year-on-year in April compared with 5.1 pct in March.
The ECB has set a reference value of 4.5 pct for year-on-year M3 growth. The reference value is not a target but is used as a basis for monitoring trends in monetary growth.
Credit to the private sector grew 9.0 pct year-on-year in April, down from a growth rate of 9.2 pct in March.
Loans to the private sector, which account for the bulk of private sector credit, grew 8.3 pct year-on-year, compared with a growth rate of 8.6 pct the month before.
Credit to general government fell 4.7 pct year-on-year. Total credit to euro area residents -- which consists of private sector credit and credit to general government -- consequently grew 5.7 pct year-on-year in April.
Month-on-month M3 which was seasonally-adjusted but not adjusted for holdings by residents outside the euro area of money market fund shares rose 0.7 pct in April after growing 0.6 pct in March resulting in an average seasonally-adjusted month-on-month increase over the February-April period of 0.7 pct.
Currency in circulation and overnight deposits (M1) rose 0.6 pct month-on-month, while other short-term deposits (M2-M1) grew 0.7 pct. Year-on-year M1 grew 1.8 pct in April, M2-M1 rose 4.6 pct and M3-M2 increased 15.8 pct.