Weber (ECB) predicts that eurozone inflation in 2008 will be at least 3%

Date: 18/4/2008 FRANCFORT, 18 (EUROPE PRESS)

The president of the Bundesbank and a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), Axel Weber, that the expected rate of inflation in the euro zone for the whole of 2008 will be at least 3% and that the European Central Bank needs act decisively if price increases persist. In an interview with the German magazine Euro, the hawkish chairman of the ECB and the central bank indicated that the German Bundesbank has estimated inflation of 3% for the eurozone in 2008, although it warned that the rate could be even higher. " "This is a very uncomfortable for a central bank aimed at stability (...) If we produce additional price increases or second-round effects should act with determination," said Weber. On the other hand, the banker confirms German economic expectations for Germany in saying that growth "surprisingly good" early this year it sees no reason to cut the estimate of 1.9% made last December. However, Weber admits in the interview that the potential for growth in the eurozone is low "and reiterated the demand for structural reforms as a resource to boost growth in the economy of the bloc.