No products in the cart.
EconomyNov 28, 2020 03:10AM ET
© Reuters. EU finance and economy ministers hold informal meeting in Berlin
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank expects prices in the euro zone to keep falling this year and rebound more slowly in 2021 than it previously thought even as the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine boosts the growth outlook, ECB vice president Luis de Guindos said in an interview published on Saturday.
The ECB is due to unveil its new projections on Dec 10, along with a new stimulus package. De Guindos’ comments suggest a cut to the inflation forecast for this year, next year and possibly even 2022 is on the cards.
“Inflation will be negative until the end of the year and we expect that it will turn positive next year,” de Guindos told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. “All in all, we expect inflation to be close to 1% in 2021 and to see it moving up towards 1.2% or 1.3% in 2022.”
Christine Lagarde’s deputy also confirmed consensus expectations for a contraction in the euro zone economy this quarter but said the prospect of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus meant the outlook further out appeared brighter.
“Negative quarter-on-quarter growth is now the most realistic scenario for the end of the year,” de Guindos said.
“But the medium-term outlook – mainly because of the ray of hope brought by news of the vaccine – looks brighter.”
In September the ECB said it saw euro zone inflation at 0.3% in 2020, 1.0% in 2021 and 1.3% in 2022 while it expected real GDP to fall by 8.0% this year before rebounding by 5.0% in 2021 and by 3.2% in 2022.
The central bank has said it will announce the terms of its new stimulus package, mainly consisting of more bond purchases and subsidised loans to banks, at its December meeting.
Related Articles

Sudan inflation soars, raising spectre of hyperinflation
By Reuters – Nov 29, 2020
By Patrick Werr CAIRO (Reuters) – Inflation in Sudan has risen to one of the highest levels in the world, and the country risks slipping into hyperinflation unless it gets its…

UK’s Raab says Brexit talks in ‘reasonable position’
By Reuters – Nov 29, 2020
LONDON (Reuters) – Brexit trade negotiations with the European Union are in a reasonable position, with some progress on competition issues but significant differences outstanding…

From small businesses to farmers, middle India is driving demand
By Reuters – Nov 28, 2020
By Aditi Shah and Rajendra Jadhav NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – Manish Mehra, owner of Washex Hospitality, an industrial laundry service, recently flew from Delhi to Jodhpur, a…
Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.