##ties. turning to the monetary analysis, the annual growth rate of m3 declined to 1. 7 % in december 2010, from 2. 1 % in november. the annual growth rate of loans to the private sector also declined, albeit marginally, to 1. 9 % in december, after 2. 0 % in november. these declines partly reflect the reversal of special factors that operated in november and do not indicate a general weakening of monetary dynamics. overall, however, broad money and loan growth is still low, confirming the assessment that the underlying pace of monetary expansion is moderate and that inflationary pressures over the medium to long term should remain contained. looking at m3 components, annual m1 growth moderated further to stand at 4. 4 % in december 2010, reflecting the prevailing low remuneration of overnight deposits. at the same time, the yield curve has steepened somewhat further, implying that the attractiveness of short - term instruments included in m3 continues to decline compared with more highly remunerated longer - term instruments outside m3. on the counterpart side, the annual growth rate of bank loans to the private sector continued to conceal differences in the magnitude of growth across sectors. the growth of loans to non - financial corporations stood at – 0. 2 % in december, after – 0. 1 % in the previous month, while the growth of loans to households strengthened to 3. 0 % in december, after 2. 8 % in november. taking into account the effect of derecognition of loans from bank balance sheets and looking through short - term volatility, the latest data confirm a continued gradual strengthening in the annual growth of lending to the non - financial private sector. at the same time, the latest data point to the overall size of bank balance sheets having contracted again after expanding for most of 2010, mainly on account of a reduction in lending between banks. it is important that banks continue to expand the provision of credit to the private sector, in an environment of increasing demand. to address this challenge, where necessary, it is essential for banks to retain earnings, to turn to the market to strengthen further their capital bases or to take full advantage of government support measures for recapitalisation. to sum up, the current key ecb interest rates still remain appropriate. we therefore decided to leave them unchanged. taking into account all the new information and analyses which have become available since our meeting on 13 january 2011, we continue to see evidence of short - term upward pressure on overall inflation

##ommodative monetary policy stance and the measures adopted to improve the functioning of the financial system. however, the recovery in activity is expected to be dampened by the process of balance sheet adjustment in various sectors. in the governing council ’ s assessment, the risks to this economic outlook are still slightly tilted to the downside, while uncertainty remains elevated. on the one hand, global trade may continue to grow more rapidly than expected, thereby supporting euro area exports. moreover, strong business confidence could provide more support to domestic economic activity in the euro area than is currently expected. on the other hand, downside risks relate to the tensions in some segments of the financial markets and their potential spillover to the euro area real economy. further downside risks relate to renewed increases in oil and other commodity prices, protectionist pressures and the possibility of a disorderly correction of global imbalances. with regard to price developments, euro area annual hicp inflation was 2. 4 % in january 2011, according to eurostat ’ s flash estimate, after 2. 2 % in december. this further increase was broadly anticipated and largely reflects higher energy prices. looking ahead to the next bis central bankers ’ speeches few months, inflation rates could temporarily increase further and are likely to stay slightly above 2 % for most of 2011, before moderating again around the turn of the year. overall, we continue to see evidence of short - term upward pressure on overall inflation, mainly owing to energy and commodity prices. such pressure is also discernible in the earlier stages of the production process. these developments have not so far affected our assessment that price developments will remain in line with price stability over the policy - relevant horizon. at the same time, very close monitoring is warranted. inflation expectations over the medium to longer term continue to be firmly anchored in line with the governing council ’ s aim of keeping inflation rates below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. risks to the medium - term outlook for price developments are still broadly balanced but, as already indicated in january, could move to the upside. currently, upside risks relate, in particular, to developments in energy and non - energy commodity prices. furthermore, increases in indirect taxes and administered prices may be greater than currently expected, owing to the need for fiscal consolidation in the coming years, and price pressures in the production chain could rise further. on the downside, risks relate mainly to the impact on inflation of potentially lower growth, given the prevailing uncertain