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Free AccessTEXT: ECB President Mario Draghi Press Conference Statement
LONDON (MNI) - Below is the text released by the European Central Bank
Governing Council of President Mario Draghi's opening statement at the post
council meeting:
===========================================================================
Mario Draghi, President of the ECB,
Vitor Constancio, Vice-President of the ECB,
Frankfurt am Main, 7 September 2017
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome
you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today's
meeting of the Governing Council.
Based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided to keep the
key ECB interest rates unchanged. We expect them to remain at their present
levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of our net
asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, we confirm
that our net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of E60 billion, are
intended to run until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary, and in
any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of
inflation consistent with its inflation aim. The net purchases are made
alongside reinvestments of the principal payments from maturing securities
purchased under the asset purchase programme.
The incoming information, including our new staff projections, confirms a
broadly unchanged medium-term outlook for euro area economic growth and
inflation. The economic expansion, which accelerated more than expected in the
first half of 2017, continues to be solid and broad-based across countries and
sectors. At the same time, the recent volatility in the exchange rate represents
a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring with regard to its possible
implications for the medium-term outlook for price stability.
While the ongoing economic expansion provides confidence that inflation
will gradually head to levels in line with our inflation aim, it has yet to
translate sufficiently into stronger inflation dynamics. Measures of underlying
inflation have ticked up slightly in recent months but, overall, remain at
subdued levels. Therefore, a very substantial degree of monetary accommodation
is still needed for underlying inflation pressures to gradually build up and
support headline inflation developments in the medium term. If the outlook
becomes less favourable, or if financial conditions become inconsistent with
further progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, we
stand ready to increase our asset purchase programme in terms of size and/or
duration. This autumn we will decide on the calibration of our policy
instruments beyond the end of the year, taking into account the expected path of
inflation and the financial conditions needed for a sustained return of
inflation rates towards levels that are below, but close to, 2%.
Let me now explain our assessment in greater detail, starting with the
economic analysis. Euro area real GDP increased by 0.6%, quarter on quarter, in
the second quarter of 2017, after 0.5% in the first quarter. Survey data point
to continued broad-based growth in the period ahead. Our monetary policy
measures are supporting domestic demand and have facilitated the deleveraging
process. Private consumption is underpinned by employment gains, which are also
benefiting from past labour market reforms, and by increasing household wealth.
The recovery in investment continues to benefit from very favourable financing
conditions and improvements in corporate profitability. Moreover, the
broad-based global recovery will support euro area exports.
This assessment is broadly reflected in the September 2017 ECB staff
macroeconomic projections for the euro area. These projections foresee annual
real GDP increasing by 2.2% in 2017, by 1.8% in 2018 and by 1.7% in 2019.
Compared with the June 2017 Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections, the
outlook for real GDP growth has been revised up for 2017, reflecting the recent
stronger growth momentum, and is broadly unchanged thereafter.
Risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook remain broadly balanced. On
the one hand, the current positive cyclical momentum increases the chances of a
stronger than expected economic upswing. On the other hand, downside risks
continue to exist, primarily relating to global factors and developments in
foreign exchange markets.
Euro area annual HICP inflation was 1.5% in August. Looking ahead, on the
basis of current futures prices for oil, annual rates of headline inflation are
likely to temporarily decline towards the turn of the year, mainly reflecting
base effects in energy prices. At the same time, measures of underlying
inflation have ticked up moderately in recent months, but have yet to show
convincing signs of a sustained upward trend. Domestic cost pressures, notably
from labour markets, are still subdued. Underlying inflation in the euro area is
expected to rise gradually over the medium term, supported by our monetary
policy measures, the continuing economic expansion, the corresponding gradual
absorption of economic slack and rising wages.
This assessment is also broadly reflected in the September 2017 ECB staff
macroeconomic projections for the euro area, which foresee annual HICP inflation
at 1.5% in 2017, 1.2% in 2018 and 1.5% in 2019. Compared with the June 2017
Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections, the outlook for headline HICP
inflation has been revised down slightly, mainly reflecting the recent
appreciation of the euro exchange rate.
Turning to the monetary analysis, broad money (M3), despite some monthly
volatility, continues to expand at a robust pace, with an annual rate of growth
of 4.5% in July 2017, after 5.0% in June. As in previous months, annual growth
in M3 was mainly supported by its most liquid components, with the narrow
monetary aggregate M1 expanding at an annual rate of 9.1% in July 2017, down
from 9.7% in June.
The recovery in the growth of loans to the private sector observed since
the beginning of 2014 is proceeding. The annual growth rate of loans to
non-financial corporations increased to 2.4% in July 2017, up from 2.0% in June,
while the annual growth rate of loans to households remained stable at 2.6%. The
pass-through of the monetary policy measures put in place since June 2014
continues to significantly support borrowing conditions for firms and
households, access to financing - notably for small and medium-sized enterprises
- and credit flows across the euro area.
To sum up, a cross-check of the outcome of the economic analysis with the
signals coming from the monetary analysis confirmed the need for a continued
very substantial degree of monetary accommodation to secure a sustained return
of inflation rates towards levels that are below, but close to, 2%.
In order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other
policy areas must contribute decisively to strengthening the longer-term growth
potential and reducing vulnerabilities. The implementation of structural reforms
needs to be substantially stepped up to increase resilience, reduce structural
unemployment and boost euro area growth potential and productivity. Regarding
fiscal policies, all countries would benefit from intensifying efforts towards
achieving a more growth-friendly composition of public finances. A full,
transparent and consistent implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact and
of the macroeconomic imbalances procedure over time and across countries remains
essential to bolster the resilience of the euro area economy. Strengthening
Economic and Monetary Union remains a priority. The Governing Council welcomes
the ongoing discussions on further enhancing the institutional architecture of
our Economic and Monetary Union.
We are now at your disposal for questions.
--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$X$$$,MC$$$$,M$$EC$]
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Why MNI
MNI is the leading provider
of intelligence and analysis on the Global Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange and Energy markets. We use an innovative combination of real-time analysis, deep fundamental research and journalism to provide unique and actionable insights for traders and investors. Our "All signal, no noise" approach drives an intelligence service that is succinct and timely, which is highly regarded by our time constrained client base.Our Head Office is in London with offices in Chicago, Washington and Beijing, as well as an on the ground presence in other major financial centres across the world.