President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that the euro zone appeared to be attracting more foreign investment recently, in a sign that investors are increasingly confident in Europe's economic outlook. "I would say that the economy is responding quite well to our monetary policy, and is delivering on that front," Lagarde told reporters at her regular press conference after the bank's latest rate-setting meeting.

"We perceive a serious momentum to improve, to change, to simplify, to streamline, and to encourage and .. welcome capital into Europe. And we are seeing it: The reverse Yankee bonds, significant increase that we have seen in the last few weeks, is a clear indication that there is trust in our system," she said.

A reverse Yankee bond is a debt security issued by a U.S. company in a foreign market denominated in another currency, such as the euro.

"The capital flow that we are seeing as well - whether it is European investment returning to Europe or a bit of non-European investment coming to Europe - all that is an indication that at least market forces, investors, those who move real money around, actually see value and have confidence in Europe."