Growth in lending to eurozone businesses and households accelerated in October, ECB data showed yesterday, in welcome news for the central bank after it unleashed fresh stimulus to boost the economy. Credit to non-financial firms grew 3.8 per cent year-on-year compared to 3.6 per cent in September, the European Central Bank said in figures adjusted for some purely financial transactions. Lending to households increased at a steady clip of 3.5 per cent, 0.1 percentage point more than in September. Overall, private sector credit growth ticked up from 3.6 to 3.7 per cent. The monthly data is closely watched to gauge the effectiveness of the ECB's efforts to encourage lending and investment in the single currency bloc in a bid to drive up economic growth and stubbornly low inflation.