PARIS (AFX) - French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius made renewed implicit calls for an ECB interest rate cut, citing a slowdown of growth in Europe.
In an interview with weekly paper Le Revenu to appear tomorrow, Fabius said "we see growth at a slower rate in Europe, influenced by the U.S. slowdown and worldwide financial markets."
"We also see, as several members of the ECB have noted, that inflationary pressures are becoming less strong. Everyone can draw the consequences from this," he said, stressing however that he remains a supporter of the ECB's independence.
Fabius indicated in late March he favored an interest rate cut, saying that he "would be satisfied by anything that allowed growth to resume."