Eurozone loans to private sector still contracting: ECB

Loans to the private sector in the euro area, a gauge of economic health, slipped year-on-year in February, but by less than in January, the European Central Bank said Thursday.

The volume of loans to private businesses and households declined by just 0.1 percent in February compared with the same month in 2014, fractionally lower than the drop of 0.2 percent recorded in January, the ECB said in a statement.

The long and deep financial crisis in the 19 countries that share the euro has squeezed lending, thus dampening economic activity.

The overall eurozone money supply grew 4.0 percent in February from a year earlier, faster than the 3.7 percent recorded in January.

The ECB regards M3 money supply as a barometer for future inflation.