ECB's Mersch says too early to declare victory over weak economy

[January 06, 2017]  PARIS (Reuters) - It is still premature to declare victory over economic weakness in the euro zone despite the latest figures showing a pick-up in inflation, European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Friday.

Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank presents an oversized newly unveiled 10 euro note at the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, January 13, 2014. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

"Statistics from just one month is not going to change our position," Mersch told a conference in Paris.

Mersch, considered a hawk, added that wages were not growing fast enough in the bloc to fuel inflationary pressure.

Inflation - below the bank's 2 percent target for over 3 years - is now on the way up, probably exceeding 1 percent early next year, in what could provide relief for the ECB but also an argument for hawks on its Governing Council to reduce stimulus.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.