The European Central Bank (ECB) has room for more rate cuts to support economic growth, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said on Monday.
"I do think that as the president of the ECB said, the bank has room for maneuver," Juncker told reporters as he arrived to chair a monthly meeting with his eurozone counterparts.
"I do think that the bank (ECB) makes wise use of this room for maneuver," he added, referring to the recent rate cuts by the ECB.
The Frankfurt-based ECB is due to hold its monthly monetary policy meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Expectation was high that the bank will make a big rate cut for the third time in less than two months in a bid to stimulate the eurozone economy, which plunged into recession in the third quarter.
Since early October, the ECB has made two rate cuts in less than one month, each time by 50 basis points. Now the rate stands at 3.25 percent. It was widely expected that the ECB will cut the rate by at least half a percentage point this time.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also said in Paris on Sunday that the necessary conditions are present for a "very clear" move to cut interest rates by the ECB, noting that inflation was becoming less of a concern than growth.
Source: Xinhua
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