ECB Governing Council member Ignazio Visco said the central bank “will need to adopt further expansionary measures if the euro zone economy does not pick up.” And, “in the coming weeks the ECB will continue to assess how to adjust the instruments at its disposal”. This is in-line with market expectations that ECB is ready ramp up monetary stimulus either on July 25 or later in September.
Being Governor of Bank of Italy too, Visco expected the Italian economy to grow just 0.1% this year, marginally below the government’s 0.2% official forecast. Though, he also expected growth to pickup to just slightly below 1% in 2020 and 2021. He urged the government to adopt “prudent” budget deficit targets for the coming years. But he also welcomed recent fall in Italian yields, after EU averted the Excessive Deficit Procedure on the country.
