The level of mortgage borrowing reached historic highs in March, according to figures released this morning by the Central Bank.
Although the adjusted annual rate of private-sector credit eased to 21.1 per cent from 21.8 per cent in March, the annual growth rate of housing finance climbed to a record level of 27.4 per cent from 26.9 per cent the previous month.
In contrast, the annual growth rate of non-mortgage credit fell to 16.1 per cent from 18.6 per cent in March, mainly due to the unwinding of some 1.9 billion of repurchase agreements.
Short-term interest rates remained broadly unchanged in April, in line with key ECB interest rates, but longer-term money market rates increased after declining for four months in a row as market participants revised upwards their expectations for interest rates in the coming months.
Twelve-month rates rose by 26 basis points over the month. Lending by the Bank to credit institutions, as part of the ECB's monetary policy operations, fell by €206 million in April.
Most of the change was accounted for by a decline in main refinancing operations. The euro depreciated by 2.4 per cent against the dollar following a number of data releases that showed strengthening economic conditions in the United States.
The euro regained some of the ground lost against the Japanese yen in March, appreciating by 3.5 per cent over the month. The euro also made modest gains against sterling, rising by 1.1 per cent in April.