Bank of Italy's Panetta says ECB monetary policy should remain expansionary for a long time

Comments by Bank of Italy's deputy governor Fabio Panetta

• Necessary for policy to remain expansionary "for a long time"
• Sees no reason to believe normalisation of ECB policy would shock financial system or economy if it is done gradually

No surprises that Italy is in favour of loose monetary policy. Pretty much the anti-Germany, so the comments here aren't really anything new.

Meanwhile, Istat (Italy's statistics office) is also out saying that leading indicator fell slightly in March. The leading indicator is sort of a reference for economic conditions. Also not a surprise as recent Eurozone activity has slowed down in Q1 this year - basing off economic data points.