New business lending picked up in February but the longer-term trend remains weak, with little prospect of a pick-up.According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics lending data, new commercial finance commitments rose 5.6 per cent in February, compared with the previous month (in seasonally adjusted terms).The increase followed a month-on-month fall of 2.6 per cent in January and a fall of 8.3 per cent in December.The A$42.8 billion of new commercial finance in February was 5.6 per cent less than new business lending in February last year and well down on lending in peak months last year, when there were more than $47 billion of commitments.The Veda Quarterly Business Credit Demand Index, which was released earlier in the week, shows a softening of demand.Applications for business loans, trade credit and asset finance rose at an annual rate of 1.5 per cent in the March quarter - down from an annual growth rate of three per cent in the December quarter.It was the lowest growth rate recorded by Veda since the March quarter in 2014.Veda said specific factors contributing to the slowing in demand included a fall in trade credit applications and a fall in applications for business finance in mining areas.