As eurozone heals from crisis, demand for eurozone investments rises

The European Central Bank says international investors are recovering their appetite to hold euros.

The bank said Wednesday that foreign demand for stocks, bonds and other portfolio investments in euros rose to 3.7 percent of eurozone economic output in 2013, up from 3.0 percent the year before.

The ECB says the stronger demand shows recovering confidence as the 18-country eurozone recovers from a debt crisis that bred fears it might break up.

The currency's share of global central bank reserves slipped, however, to 24.4 percent from 25.3 percent. The U.S. dollar remains on top, with 61.2 percent.

Top ECB official Benoit Coeure says one reason for that is that conservative central bank officials may move more slowly than private investors to adjust their holdings.