ECB confident amid ‘robust’ growth

With the ECB’s next policy update less than two weeks away, the institution’s top officials are expressing confidence that they will eventually succeed in returning inflation to their goal.

“We are confident that as the conditions will continue to improve, the inflation rate will gradually converge in a self-sustained manner, as we’ve defined many times, and in a durable way to our objective,” ECB president Mario Draghi told reporters in Washington. “But together with our confidence we should also be patient because it’s going to take time.”

Mr Draghi’s confidence was reiterated yesterday by vice president Vitor Constancio, and comes as policy makers prepare for a meeting on October 26 that is widely expected to set out the plan for their bond-buying programme past the end of this year.