ECB’s Panetta Says There’s No Need to Hold Back on Rate Cuts

There’s no need to hold back on European Central Bank interest rate cuts as the 2% price target is in sight and inflation risks are to the downside, Governing Council member Fabio Panetta said.

“Monetary policy continues to exert downward pressure on economic activity and on inflation, an effect that is less and less necessary with near-target inflation and persistently weak domestic demand,” he said in a speech on Saturday in Turin. “A less decisive easing of monetary policy could lead to excessively low inflation in the medium term.”