ECB

DRAGHI SOUNDS ECONOMIC ALARM AS RISKS TILT TO THE DOWNSIDE

(Bloomberg) — Mario Draghi intensified his warning on the
challenges facing the euro-area economy, signaling the European
Central Bank will be even more cautious about any withdrawal of
crisis-era stimulus this year.
After holding out in December from fully downgrading his
assessment, the ECB president finally caved on Thursday by
telling reporters that the risks to growth “have moved to the
downside.” That’s a significant change from six weeks ago, when
he described the risks as “broadly balanced” and capped massive
monetary support. The euro slid.

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What Bloomberg’s Economists Say…
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“The Governing Council is getting increasingly concerned about
emerging weakness in the euro area. It confirms that the first
rate hike is unlikely to take place before December and that ECB
forecasts will be revised down in March.”– Maeva Cousin, David
Powell and Jamie Murray, Bloomberg Economics. See their ECB
REACT.

source: Bloomberg