Euro zone lending growth accelerates after rate cuts

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lending growth in the 20-nation euro zone accelerated last month, suggesting that a string of interest rate cuts have started to transmit through to the real economy, European Central Bank data showed on Thursday.

Credit to businesses expanded by 2.0% in January, the highest rate since July 2023, and above the 1.7% recorded in December. Household lending meanwhile grew by 1.3% after 1.1% a month earlier to hit its best rate in a year and a half.

The more volatile M3 measure of money circulating in the economy, sometimes an indicator of future economic growth, expanded by 3.6%, just short of expectations for 3.8% in a Reuters poll.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)