Euro zone bank lending growth hovering near zero, ECB data shows

Bank lending in the euro zone continued to languish near multi-year lows in May as record-high interest rates likely put off both lenders and borrowers, even as the European Central Bank was preparing for a rate cut.

Banks increased their loans to companies by just 0.3% year-on-year in May, after a 0.2% rise in April. Lending to households meanwhile accelerated by the same rate, to 0.3% from 0.2%.

On the upside, a measures of money circulating in the euro area, which often leads economic activity, rose by 1.6% in May, the highest print in a year and ahead of the 1.5% expected by a Reuters poll of economists.