FRANKFURT:

Growth of loans to the private sector in the euro area, a gauge of economic health, is picking up speed, suggesting the European Central Bank's monetary policy is finally working, ECB data showed Thursday.

After long months of contraction, the volume of loans to private businesses and households increased by one percent in July compared with the same month in 2014, the ECB said in a statement. The previous month, private sector loans had increased by 0.6 percent.