Mario Draghi warns growth in eurozone could slow, after downbeat data
Economic data signal that the eurozone got off to a rocky start in 2018 after a robust 2017, complicating the ECB’s efforts to gradually exit its crisis-era stimulus measures
Frankfurt am Main — On Thursday, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi warned of "some moderation" in the eurozone’s growth pace, after a string of hard and soft data suggested that the region’s economy lost momentum at the start of 2018. "Following several quarters of higher than expected growth, incoming information since our meeting in early March points towards some moderation while remaining consistent with a solid and broad-based expansion of the euro area economy," Draghi told reporters in Frankfurt. The ECB kept its main refinancing rate at 0%, the rate on the marginal lending facility at 0.25%, and on deposits at -0.4%, meaning banks pay to park money with the ECB. Governors also decided to continue buying €30bn of government and corporate bonds per month under the quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme. Analysts had widely expected caution from the ECB after it ventured a burst of optimism in March, dropping a pledge to increase QE if the economy weakened aga...
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