–Adds Comments On Growth Outlook, Inflation Expectations
FRANKFURT (MNI) – The European Central Bank Governing Council did
not discuss changed to its key policy rates at its meeting Thursday,
said ECB President Mario Draghi.
“We frankly didn’t discuss any prospective or current change in
interest rates,” Draghi told reporters after the meeting.
Asked whether the ECB was feeling more confident about the economic
outlook for the Eurozone, Draghi said he would not go quite that far,
but there were more signs of stabilisation — at a low level.
“I wouldn’t say we are confident,” he said. “We have come from a
very weak fourth quarter, but we’ve seen a stream of both survey and
hard data that seem to point to a stabilisation of economic activity at
low level.”
“In other words, last time we presented a baseline scenario, but
the amount of evidence that this stabilisation was on track was smaller
than the amount of evidence we have today,” he explained.
“But as I never stop saying uncertainty is high — uncertainty
related to the global economy, uncertainty related to sovereign
tensions, uncertainty related to what we just discussed, the credit
markets, and uncertainty related to global growth.” Draghi reminded,
reiterating that “downside risks for growth still persist.”
Draghi confirmed that the ECB is more optimistic on the prospects
for recovery in the Eurozone this year than the IMF.
“We are less pessimistic than the IMF, especially for Germany. You
might have heard what [Bundesbank President Jen Weidmann] said about IMF
forecasts for Germany. We are less pessimistic than the IMF, certainly.”
Draghi insisted he had respected the mandate of the central bank:
“I have respected the mandate of the ECB, which is to maintain price
stability in the medium term.”
“Inflation expectations have remained firmly anchored,” Draghi
added, both before and during his first 100 days in office.
“Admittedly it’s a very short term to judge someone — it could go
much worse,” he cautioned.
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7492; email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com
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