FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane on Wednesday made the case for measured policy easing because excessively slow rate cuts would weigh on euro zone growth but moving too quickly could delay a long-predicted drop in inflation.
“Balancing these considerations suggest a middle path is appropriate, which neither over-weighs upside risk nor over-weighs downside risk,” Lane said in Washington.
“It is prudent to maintain agility in adjusting the stance as appropriate on a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting basis and to not pre-commit to any particular rate path,” Lane added.
Investors expect the ECB to cut rates at least three more times this year as price pressures are evaporating and growth is anaemic.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)
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