Investing.com - Investing.com - The euro zone's M3 money supply grew in line with expectations in February, while private loans declined for the 22nd consecutive month, official data showed on Thursday. In a report, the European Central Bank said M3 money supply in the single currency bloc rose at annualized rate of 1.3% last month, meeting forecasts. M3 money supply in the euro zone rose 1.2% in the preceding month. Loans to private sector declined at a pace of 2.2% annually in February, compared to expectations for a 2.1% drop, after falling 2.3% in January. Following the release of the data, the euro held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.11% to trade at 1.3770. Meanwhile, European stock markets remained lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.1%, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.2%, Germany's DAX fell 0.1%, while London's FTSE 100 inched down 0.4%.

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