ECB’s Liikanen: Indicators Confirm Slight Economic Turnaround

HELSINKI (MNI) – There are signs of economic improvement in the
euro area recently, European Central Bank Governing Council member Erkki
Liikanen said Thursday.

Speaking at a leadership forum, the Bank of Finland head said that
“indicators confirm a slight upturn in the Eurozone economy in the past
weeks” and observed that stock markets had reflected this improvement in
prospects by rising over “the past five to six weeks.”

The ECB is “trying to ensure that the debt crisis will not turn
into a banking crisis,” he said. “It is key that banks have gotten new
capital so they have been able to support growth.”

Liikanen expressed the desire to see all countries obtain a primary
fiscal surplus. Acknowleding the need for firewalls, he called the EU
and the IMF “in a key position” to create these.

It is important for central banks that inflation expectations are
currently anchored, he said.

–Frankfurt bureau tel.: +49-69 720142. Email: frankfurt@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$$EC$,MGX$$,M$$CR$,MT$$$$]