Investing.com – European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi commented that the unprecedented measures taken in March proved that the euro area monetary authority would not cease in its endeavors to fight low inflation, although he did admit that 2016 would be a difficult year.
In comments in the preface to the ECB’s Annual Report published on Thursday, Draghi defended the easing measures implemented by the ECB in March given that the downside risks from the global economy had tilted the inflation outlook.
“Those headwinds intensified in early 2016, requiring a further expansion of our policy stance,” Draghi explained.
“These decisions reaffirmed that, even when faced with global disinflationary forces, the ECB does not surrender to excessively low inflation,” he added.
In that context, Draghi did not hesitate to assert that “2016 will be a no less challenging year for the ECB”.
Among the challenges, he pointed to outlook for the global economy, disinflationary forces, along with the direction of Europe and its resilience to new shocks.