credit creation, notwithstanding a recent moderation in credit dynamics. the narrow monetary aggregate m1 remained the main contributor to broad money growth. the annual growth rate of loans to non - financial corporations rebounded to 3. 7 % in february 2019, from 3. 4 % in january, reflecting mainly a base effect. looking through short - term volatility, the annual growth rate of loans to non - financial corporations has moderated in recent months, reflecting the typical lagged reaction to the slowdown in economic growth. at the same time, the annual growth rate of loans to households remained broadly unchanged at 3. 3 % in february. the euro area bank lending survey for the first quarter of 2019 suggests that overall bank lending conditions remained favourable. our monetary policy measures, including the new series of tltros that we announced in march, will help to safeguard favourable bank lending conditions and will continue to support access to financing, in particular for small and medium - sized enterprises. to sum up, a cross - check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the signals coming from the monetary analysis confirmed that an ample degree of monetary accommodation is still necessary for the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. in order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute more decisively to raising the longer - term growth potential and reducing vulnerabilities. the implementation of structural reforms in euro area countries needs to be substantially stepped up to increase resilience, reduce structural unemployment and boost euro area productivity and growth potential. regarding fiscal policies, the mildly expansionary euro area fiscal stance and the operation of automatic stabilisers are providing support to economic activity. at the same time, countries where government debt is high need to continue rebuilding fiscal buffers. all countries should reinforce their efforts to achieve a more growth - friendly composition of public finances. likewise, the transparent and consistent implementation of the european union ’ s fiscal and economic governance framework over time and across countries remains essential to bolster the resilience of the euro area economy. improving the functioning of economic and monetary union remains a priority. the governing council welcomes the ongoing work and urges further specific and decisive steps to complete the banking union and the capital markets union. we are now at your disposal for questions. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

next year. the strength of the euro area ’ s economic expansion in the past few months is in line with these forecasts. in fact, recent indicators suggest that, following the period of acceleration, the economic expansion may now have settled at a high rate of growth. the overall level of confidence has remained at, or close to, record highs in recent months. moreover, employment continued to grow strongly in the first half of this year and the rate of capacity utilisation has risen further. taken together, these factors should underpin the growth of private consumption and investment, and thus that of domestic demand. the positive outlook for the euro area is also supported by external developments. the outlook for growth of the world economy, and thus for growth of euro area exports, has remained favourable. forecasts of world growth have consistently been revised upwards over the past few months. expectations of a period of sustained economic growth in the euro area can also be found in euro area bond markets. overall, longer - term bond yields in the euro area have shown a very high level of stability in the course of this year, with fluctuations being contained within a relatively narrow range. the annual rate of increase in the harmonised index of consumer prices ( hicp ) was 2. 4 % in july 2000. recent consumer price developments in the euro area have been very much influenced by the strong rise in oil prices and the depreciation of the exchange rate of the euro. while monetary policy cannot address short - term developments in prices, it is imperative for monetary policy that medium - term upward pressure on prices be contained. the risk that the current pressure on the hicp might spill over onto costs and prices determined in the domestic economy must be taken seriously. this holds true in particular in the context of the favourable prospects for economic growth. the governing council reacted to this picture by raising the main ecb interest rates at its meeting on 31 august 2000. this step followed a series of interest rate increases implemented since november 1999. the governing council will continue to remain alert to emerging risks to price stability. it is a matter of fact that recent oil price increases have caused the terms of trade of the euro area to deteriorate, and thus have also reduced real income. this loss of real income cannot be avoided for the economy as a whole. attempts to shift the burden of this loss within the economy will risk endangering the continuation of a non - inflationary growth process. for the maintenance of price stability, it will