Euro zone bank lending growth picks up in Aug

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bank lending to the euro zone economy expanded slightly in August, continuing a slow rebound since the start of the year possibly boosted by the prospect of steady European Central Bank rate cuts in the months ahead, ECB data showed on Thursday.

Bank credit to companies grew by 0.8% in August after a 0.6% increase in July while credit to households expanded by 0.6% after 0.5% in the previous month, with both figure trending up nearly all year.

The measure of money circulating in the euro area, which often leads economic activity, meanwhile expanded by 2.9% in August, beating expectations for 2.6% in a Reuters poll of economists.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)

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