MNI BRIEF: 'Package Of Good News' For EZ Economy - Lagarde

Recent increases in growth and inflation are a "package of good news," ECB president Christine Lagarde said in an interview Friday, as she expressed hope that growth will continue while prices rises - many of which will prove to be temporary - stabilise next year. Inflation could also increase if economic activity continued to increase and employment markets tighten, she added.

Lagarde declined to put a figure on the ECB's decision to conduct PEPP purchase at a moderate level compared with previous months, with the pace of bond-buying still aimed at ensuring favourable financing conditions. The jury is still out on whether the transition to green energy generation will result in permanently higher prices, she said.

A recent Financial Times story that claimed the ECB may raise interest rates by 2023 was factually incorrect and based on hearsay and second-hand information, Lagarde said, adding: "Of course we believe that if our monetary policy is successful, we will indeed hit the 2% inflation."