TURIN, Italy (Reuters) – Higher U.S. tariffs on European exports are likely to have little effect on euro area inflation, a top European Central Bank policymaker said, adding the main risk remained that of medium-term inflation falling below 2%.
In the text of a speech prepared for Italy’s annual Assiom-Forex financial conference, ECB Governing Council member Fabio Panetta also called for policy decisions to be “supported by communication focused on the medium-term outlook for the real economy and inflation.”
Panetta, who is governor of Italy’s central bank, said the main threat for price developments came from energy markets, where prices, especially for natural gas, are rising amid increased volatility, warranting close monitoring.
However, “overall, the available indicators seem to suggest that the predominant risk remains inflation falling below 2% over the medium term,” he said.
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Andrea Mandala; editing by Giselda Vagnoni)
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