Investing.com - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated Thursday that euro zone interest rates will remain on hold at current levels through the end of summer 2019, underlining the widening monetary policy divergence with the Federal Reserve.
The comments came after the ECB left interest rates on hold at the conclusion of its latest policy setting meeting, in what was a widely anticipated decision.
Draghi said the euro area economy still needs "significant monetary policy stimulus," despite announcing plans last month to wind up the bank’s quantitative easing program at the end of the year.
"Significant monetary policy stimulus is still needed to support the further build-up of domestic price pressures and headline inflation developments over the medium term," Draghi said at the banks post policy meeting press conference in Frankfurt.
Draghi said it is "too early" to assess the impact of the agreement between Europe and the U.S. to cooperate on trade, but said it was a good sign.
"It is a good sign, because in a sense it shows that there is a willingness to discuss trade issues in a multilateral framework again," he said.
Draghi also noted that uncertainty surrounding the inflation outlook is receding and said risks to the growth outlook remain broadly balanced.