ECB’s Villeroy: Must Keep Full Optionality, Agile Pragmatism More Essential Than Ever

By Marta Vilar – MADRID (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday that the ECB should retain full optionality in its actions ahead and that “agile pragmatism” was more essential than ever.

In a statement Villeroy, who heads the Banque de France, said that the GDP and inflation numbers for France recently released were “two pieces of good news for the French economy”, as they showed “resilient growth” in Q3 and “very well-contained inflation.”

As for the euro area, he said inflation remained close to the ECB target of 2% after the latest reading of HICP at 2.1%.

The ECB was in a good position, but this was “of course not a fixed one,” he said.

“In view of the various risks, including those coming from financial markets, we must maintain full optionality to act as needed,” he said. “More than ever, agile pragmatism, guided by data and forecasts, will be essential in our upcoming meetings.”

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