ECB’s Scicluna: Risks Assessed as More Balanced After 2021

14 April 2021

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member Edward Scicluna said Wednesday that pandemic-related developments posed increased near-term downside risks, but that the post-2021 outlook was more balanced

In a statement in the annual report of the Central Bank of Malta, which he heads, Scicluna said that Malta’s relatively good economic conditions ‘means that once foreign demand recovers and the lingering uncertainty surrounding the medical crisis dissipates, the Maltese economy can be expected to rebound from the COVID-19 shock.’

‘Inflationary pressures are expected to remain very subdued this year but should start to pick up from 2022 as demand conditions improve’, he said.

The latest increase in Covid-19 case numbers in Europe and the public health policy response constitute ‘a downside risk to activity in the near term and to public finances’, he said. ‘Risks are assessed to be more balanced after 2021, as the implementation of vaccination programmes should allow a broader economic recovery in line with the Bank’s expectations.’