. 3 % in the previous month, while the annual growth rate of loans to households remained broadly stable at 2. 3 % in february. at the same time, the euro area bank lending survey for the first quarter of 2017 indicates that net loan demand has increased and bank lending conditions have further eased across all loan categories. the pass - through of the monetary policy measures put in place since june 2014 continues to significantly support borrowing conditions for firms and households and credit flows across the euro area. to sum up, a cross - check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the signals coming from the monetary analysis confirmed the need for a continued very substantial degree of monetary accommodation to secure a sustained return of inflation rates towards levels that are below, but close to, 2 % without undue delay. in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute much more decisively to strengthening economic growth. the implementation of structural reforms needs to be substantially stepped up to increase resilience, reduce structural unemployment and boost productivity and potential output growth. regarding fiscal policies, all countries should intensify efforts towards achieving a more growth - friendly composition of public finances. a full and consistent implementation of the stability and growth pact and of the macroeconomic imbalances procedure over time and across countries remains crucial to enhance the resilience of the euro area economy. we are now at your disposal for questions. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

in the third quarter. incoming data, notably survey results, bolster our confidence that the ongoing economic expansion will continue to firm and broaden. the passthrough of our monetary policy measures is supporting domestic demand and facilitates the ongoing deleveraging process. the recovery in investment continues to benefit from very favourable financing conditions and improvements in corporate profitability. employment gains, which are also benefiting from past labour market reforms, are supporting real disposable income and private consumption. moreover, the signs of a stronger global recovery and increasing global trade suggest that foreign demand should increasingly add to the overall resilience of the economic expansion in the euro area. however, economic growth continues to be dampened by a sluggish pace of implementation of structural reforms, in particular in product markets, and by remaining balance sheet adjustment needs in a number of sectors. the risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook, while moving towards a more balanced configuration, are still tilted to the downside and relate predominantly to global factors. headline inflation has been recovering from the very low levels seen in 2016, largely owing to higher energy price increases. after reaching 2. 0 % in february 2017, euro area annual hicp inflation stood at 1. 5 % in march. this reflected mainly lower energy and unprocessed food price 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches inflation, but also a decline in services price inflation. looking ahead, on the basis of current futures prices for oil, headline inflation is likely to increase in april and thereafter to hover around current levels until the end of this year. however, as unutilised resources are still weighing on domestic wage and price formation, measures of underlying inflation remain low and are expected to rise only gradually over the medium term, supported by our monetary policy measures, the expected continuing economic recovery and the corresponding gradual absorption of slack. turning to the monetary analysis, broad money ( m3 ) continues to expand at a robust pace, with an annual rate of growth of 4. 7 % in february 2017, after 4. 8 % in january. as in previous months, annual growth in m3 was mainly supported by its most liquid components, with the narrow monetary aggregate m1 expanding at an annual rate of 8. 4 % in february 2017, unchanged from the previous month. the recovery in loan growth to the private sector observed since the beginning of 2014 is proceeding. the annual growth rate of loans to non - financial corporations declined to 2. 0 % in february 2017, from 2