ECB Constancio: Infl Target To Be Met With Proper Monpol Ease

By Jack Duffy

     PARIS (MNI) - The European Central Bank is confident that maintaining the

right degree of monetary policy ease will eventually raise inflation to its

target level, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said Tuesday.

     "We share with other advanced economies the puzzle of wage and prices not

responding to strong growth as usual," Constancio said in Frankfurt. 

     "By keeping a sufficient degree of monetary policy accommodation we can be

confident that our goal will eventually be reached," he added. 

     The speech focused on reviewing academic literature on various policy tools

and provided no clues to future policy decisions. 

     Regarding the bank's asset purchase program, which is expected to be scaled

back in 2018, Constansio said the program "was instrumental in eliminating

deflation risks, contributes to the ongoing recovery and helps us bring

inflation closer towards our objective."

     He reiterated the current ECB policy that purchases will remain at E60

billion a month through December "or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until

the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation

consistent with our inflation aim."

--MNI Paris Bureau; tel: +33 1-42-71-55-41; email: jack.duffy@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$$EC$]