ECB decisions to reflect better growth: de Guindos
FILE PHOTO: Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Luis de Guindos gives a statement during the second day of the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for Economics and Financial Affairs in Berlin, Germany September 12, 2020. Odd Andersen/Pool via
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro zone economy is growing quicker than earlier predicted and the European Central Bank will factor this into its policy decisions, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told a Spanish newspaper.
As borrowing costs stay extra low and the euro zone has largely avoided the worst of the pandemic's Delta variant, several policymakers have called for a reduction in emergency bond purchases as soon as next week, in preparation for their end next March.
"The economy is performing better in 2021 than we expected, and this will be reflected in the projections that will be published in the coming days," El Confidencial quoted de Guindos as saying on Wednesday.
"We will have new projections in the coming days and will take our decisions accordingly," de Guindos said.
On Sept. 9, the ECB will have to decide on the pace of bond purchases for the coming quarter. While de Guindos did not offer a view on the pending move, he argued that the robust recovery paves the way for the eventual withdrawal of copious support.
"If inflation and the economy recover, then there will logically be a gradual normalisation of monetary policy, and of fiscal policy, too," he added.
Inflation surged to 3% in August, well above the ECB's 2% target and de Guindos predicted a further rise before a drop in 2022.
The ECB has so far maintained that temporary factors are behind quickening inflation and once they pass price growth is likely to languish below the ECB's target for years to come.
But de Guindos also warned that some of this surge could seep into underlying inflation, warranting the ECB's attention.
"We have to check that there are no second-round effects, because that would mean this temporary impact would become structural," he added.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Kim Coghill)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- India to supply BrahMos, Astra missiles to Indonesia, India government official says
- Meta says US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in August youth safety trial
- Trump expected to tell Turkey he is ready to restore access to F-35 jets, NYT reports
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
ReutersRelated Entities
European Central BankSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!



Tweet
Share