6 April 2001, 13:56 BOF'S TRICHET REPEATS ECB ON HOLD, WATCHING EMU WAGE TRENDS
PARIS (MktNews) - Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet, a
member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) Governing Council, repeated
Friday that the ECB remains in a "wait and see" stance, monitoring
possible knock-on effects of higher oil prices on eurozone wages.
According to the text of a speech prepared for the Swedish national
Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm, Trichet again cited ECB President Wim
Duisenberg's summary of the central bank's position after its March 29
meeting when it left interest rates unchanged. This is exactly same text
released at the Franco-German economic summit on March 30.
The ECB "is carefully assessing whether and to what extent upward
risks to price stability will continue to decline" in an international
environment of "increased uncertainty," Duisenberg's summary said.
"Information from the first pillar shows that money growth has been
on a downward trend since the spring of 2000, indicating that upward
risks to price stability from the monetary side have receded. As for
the second pillar, somewhat lower real GDP growth this year will
contribute to a reduction in domestic upward price pressures," the
summary said.
"On the other hand, owing to the risk of second-round effects from
past oil price increases, wage developments need to be monitored
carefully," the text concluded.
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