FRANKFURT (MNI) – The European Central Bank has not changed its
baseline scenario for growth and inflation and President Mario Draghi
did not try to signal such a change on Wednesday, ECB Vice President
Vitor Constancio told reporters on the sidelines of the central bank’s
Financial Integration and Stability conference on Thursday.
“The latest figure of PMI is negative but it is too soon to
conclude about a trend so we have to wait to see what happens in the
next few months to conclude if our baseline scenario is really in
danger or not,” Constancio said.
“As you know, we have said that in our baseline scenario we see
risks for inflation broadly balanced and for economic growth the risks
were for the downside. So we have to watch carefully if these risks
materialize but just one observation, which is negative…is not enough
for us to change the view of the baseline scenario,” he continued.
Asked this means that Draghi’s comments in the European Parliament
had been misinterpreted as a shift towards a gloomier outlook on growth
easing inflation concerns, Constancio said: “The latest indicators were
negative and he recognized that. No more than that. It is clear we have
not changed out baseline scenario as of this moment.”
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; e-mail jtreeck@marketnews.com
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