European Central Bank (ECB) chief
economist Peter Praet said that low inflation in the eurozone
could become a persistent problem, speaking at Rome's LUISS
University on Monday.
"What started as a temporary period of low inflation could
become persistent," Praet said.
He said the ECB would continue to react "forcefully" in the
future if necessary against the risk of persistent low
inflation.
News that the ECB intends to continue its support for the
eurozone's financial recovery helped European stock markets on
Monday.
At midday, Paris was up 1.1%, Frankfurt was up 1%, London
was up 0.7% and Milan was up 0.6%.
On the Milan Stock Exchange, some banks saw jumps in their
share prices: Mediobanca was up 2.95%, BPER was up 2.82%, and
Unipol was up 2.62%.
Others suffered, including Banco Popolare, down 2.5%; BPM,
down 2.24%; and MPS, down 2.16%.
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