Growth in Eurozone money supply, a key indicator of demand in the economy, slowed unexpectedly in October, the European Central Bank (ECB) said today.
The M3 indicator rose 2.6% last month, following a gain of 3% in September.
The ECB had initially estimated the increase in September at 3.1% and analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had pencilled in a pick-up in the growth rate for October to 3.5%.
The ECB regards the M3 figure as a key guide to inflation pressures and uses it to set interest rates accordingly.
The central bank seeks to keep Eurozone inflation below but close to 2.0% but it stood at 3.0% in October.
Meanwhile, the rate of growth in Eurozone bank loans to the private sector increased to 2.7% in October from 2.5% in September, the ECB said.
The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25% earlier this month in a surprise move, arguing that future inflation is likely to slow as the Eurozone debt crisis puts the brakes on economic growth in the single currency area.
