Money supply growth accelerated unexpectedly in September, and business borrowing returned to a record pace in the euro zone.
Annual growth in M3 money supply - a mix of cash, short-term bank deposits and money market instruments - rose to 8.5 per cent from 8.2 per cent in August, while analysts had expected the past year's string of ECB rate increases to moderate the growth to 8 per cent.
The annual growth rate of lending to the private sector returned to an all-time high, last seen in May, of 11.4 per cent, up from August's 11.3 per cent, suggesting that credit costs remain relatively cheap.
While household lending was broadly stable at a high level, corporate borrowing growth picked up to 12.7 per cent in September, from 12.0 per cent in August, the ECB said. Growth in corporate loans with one- to five-year maturities leapt by 20.6 per cent.
Money markets shrugged off the risk of higher-than-expected ECB rates, however, with the December Bund future hitting a session high after breaking through key technical levels.
Ken Wattret, economist at BNP Paribas in London, played down the significance of money supply as a leading indicator for ECB decision-making.
Nonetheless, the ECB regularly cites inflationary dangers from strong growth in money supply and private sector lending, particularly for house purchases, as an important reason for the string of five rate increases to the current level of 3.25 per cent that it has delivered over the past 10 months.