Praet said in a newspaper interview (Belgian newspaper De Standaard) published on Tuesday:

  • European Central Bank sees no current risk of deflation nor signs of people delaying purchases
  • Said persistently low inflation would represent a risk, but this was at the moment being mainly driven by subdued food and energy costs. Energy prices are highly volatile.
  • “Weak demand and high unemployment could also be playing a role”

This follows on from his (and Draghi’s) weekend comments, here: Signalled March policy meeting could be critical in determining if ECB to provide additional stimulus