On Thursday, September 8, Mario Draghi held a press conference following the meeting of the ECB’s Monetary Policy Committee. The main points to remember are:
– No new decisions
– Economic conditions in the eurozone remain largely unchanged according to the institution, and its forecasts therefore remain the same. These forecasts remain virtually unchanged with regard to inflation (HICP), at 0.2% in 2016, 1.2% in 2017, and 1.6% in 2018.
– Draghi announced that an extension of QE had not been discussed by the Governing Council. However, some observers interpreted the statement « The Governing Council has tasked the committees dealing with these issues with assessing the options for a smooth implementation of our asset purchase program » as a signal of a forthcoming announcement of an extension.
– An even stronger call for « structural reforms » at the national and European level, as well as the implementation of public investment programs. Draghi welcomed the extension of the Juncker plan and the progress made on the capital markets union, and reiterated that countries that had the means to embark on public investment programs (citing Germany) should do so.
J.P.
