26 January 2001, 15:41 DAVOS: Fabius: Fed rate cuts shouldn't affect "independent" ECB
By Liz Alderman, BridgeNews
Davos--Jan. 26--French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday
that the European Central Bank is "independent" and should not be affected
by changes to U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy. He added that although
the German Finance Ministry advocated lowering Germany's 2001 growth
forecast, France would not need to cut is 2001 economic growth outlook.
* * *
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum here
whether a potential sharp interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next
week would bring additional pressure to bear on the ECB to cut rates,
Fabius said Fed and ECB activity were "independent."
Fabius also said there was no reason for France to cut its 2001
forecast of 3.1% gross domestic product growth in the wake of German
Finance Minister Hans Eichel's request that Germany's cut its GDP growth
forecast to 2.6% from 2.75%.
Germany's annual economic report will nonetheless retain the 2.75% growth
forecast for 2001, according to reports. End
Copyright 2001 Bridge Information Systems Inc. All rights reserved.
© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved