ECB Stimulus Package May Beat Expectations, Official Says
ECB President Mario Draghi last month flagged the prospect of fresh action in September
HELSINKI—The European Central Bank will announce a package of stimulus measures at its next policy meeting in September that should overshoot investors’ expectations, a top official at the central bank said.
“It’s important that we come up with a significant and impactful policy package in September,” said Olli Rehn, who sits on the ECB’s rate-setting committee as governor of Finland’s central bank, in an interview on Thursday.
“When you’re working with financial markets, it’s often better to overshoot than undershoot, and better to have a very strong package of policy measures than to tinker,” Mr. Rehn said.
Economic data from Germany and China on Wednesday showed that two of the world’s economic powerhouses are flagging amid headwinds in the global economy that range from trade tensions to the possibility of a disorderly Brexit.
ECB President Mario Draghi last month flagged the prospect of fresh action in September, but the new comments from Finland’s central banker indicate that the level of stimulus is likely to be at the upper end of analysts’ expectations.