ECB chief economist Praet now up to the mic elsewhere 8 Feb

  • once the gov council judges that the 3 criteria for sustained adjustment have been met then net asset purchases will expire
  • the euro area is currently experiencing a solid and broad-based economic expansion, with the economy in 2017 growing at its fastest pace for a decade. The very accommodative monetary policy measures we have taken since 2014 are judged to have had a significant impact on output growth.
  • looking ahead, real GDP growth is projected to remain consistently above potential growth in the coming years

He's a busy boy this morning eh? After his Twitter Q&A Mr P is now at the GIC/SUERF/Deutsche Bundesbank Conference, Frankfurt

"Our monetary policy stance is currently determined by the combination and mutual interaction of the asset purchase programme (APP), our policy rates and our forward guidance on each of these tools. Additional stimulus is provided by the targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs), which will remain outstanding for the next three years.

Once our key interest rates had reached exceptionally low levels, the APP became for all practical purposes the primary policy tool for calibrating our monetary policy stance. This is why, since January 2015, we have been signalling the traditionally tight connection between the ECB's monetary policy and the price stability objective by linking an assessment of the medium-term outlook for inflation to the size and duration of our net asset purchases.

Accordingly, we have consistently communicated our intention to continue with our chosen pace of monthly net purchases until we see "a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with our inflation aim". In addition, the pledge to reinvest the proceeds from the principal payments that accrue from the maturing securities in our portfolio should be seen as a necessary complement to the net asset purchases.

Forward guidance on both policy rates and the APP plays a key role in determining our monetary policy stance."

Full speech here