By Marta Vilar – WASHINGTON (Econostream) – European Central Bank Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that there was “no rush” for the ECB to act, and that focusing on April was “premature.”
In a panel discussion at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington, Villeroy, who heads the Banque de France, said that the ECB would “have no hesitation to act if and when necessary, but there is no rush.”
“There is no predetermined calendar,” he said. “A focus on April would be premature.”
The ECB must have a “critical mass of data” about the impact of the energy shock on underlying inflation and economic growth before acting, he said.
“Our vigilance is first and foremost on the risk of persistence of inflation,” he said. “Headline inflation increased significantly in March, but underlying inflation remained limited at 2.3%.”
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