OECD: ECB could cut rates

The European Central Bank should ease monetary policy further if inflation does not begin rising as expected, and governments should find ways to snuff out non-performing bank loans to help economies reap the full benefits of ECB stimulus, the OECD said yesterday.

As Britain gets closer to a vote on June 23 on its EU membership, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimated that Brexit would knock 1% off of EU gross domestic product in 2018.

In in-depth reports on the eurozone and EU, the OECD said any negative economic shocks would provide grounds for further ECB easing to keep inflation on track toward its target of just under 2%.