Unscheduled comments from Mersch
- Investors underestimate actions taken in December
- Sees positive signs in the economy
- Cautious on weak inflation
- We have also very clearly said that by March we might see the necessity for technical corrections to our existing program
- We are a collective decision-making body. So you cannot extrapolate one person onto 25 people.
This is bearish EUR but hasn't gotten much attention yet. It was published three minutes ago.
WSJ: Does this indicate a hesitance about doing more in March?
YM: No, each time we meet, we assess the economic situation. And each time we have new projections, we obviously reconsider whether our stance is still appropriate. I would not be carried away by analysts in some institutions who want us to do what they would like, what they would consider as helpful. You can also say that they are lobbying. We are rather immune to these attempts.
Update:
After a full read of the interview, the comments are indecisive. He wants to scale back expectations for March action while still leaving the door open for action.
"Does this reassessment of the analysis lead to the consequence that there will be the same, or different measures, or confidence that the existing measures will only have to be corrected? I think this is a policy decision that is ahead of us and I don't want to deny that it is possible nor confirm that it has been decided," he said.
He also said the Eurozone economy is about as expected but risks from oil and emerging markets are higher.