ECB's Hansson: inflation will rebound so stay patient

[April 11, 2018]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation will eventually pick up as the economy grows but the European Central Bank needs to remain patient in providing stimulus, ECB policymaker Ardo Hansson said on Wednesday.

"The recent low inflation in the euro area has been the result of a combination of factors," Hansson said in a lecture. "Most of them are of a temporary nature and their impact will weaken over time.

"Therefore we need to be more patient in achieving our price stability goal," he said, referring to the ECB's process of removing unconventional tools and normalizing policy.

Hansson said he took comfort in the relative stability of the ECB's projections, which has shown an upward path in consumer prices over the coming years.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa and Alison Williams)

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