FRANKFURT (AFX) - Bundesbank president Ernst Welteke said recent economic data in the euro zone has pointed to higher, not lower inflationary pressures.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on the introduction of euro notes and coins, Welteke said that at the start of this year the pressures on inflation in the euro zone had appeared to be moderating.
"But the current data has pointed in other direction. The ECB will have to wait for the next economic data to come out", he said. Welteke reiterated that the ECB maintains its 'wait and see' monetary policy position, but emphasised that it still meets every two weeks to determine monetary policy. "From today's standpoint it remains wait and see", he said.
He said the middle term inflation of the ECB is to keep inflation below or not above 2 pct. The ECB defines 2 pct as the stability ceiling for HICP inflation.
Euro zone HICP inflation remains well over the 2 pct level, but Welteke said this is the fault of special factors, rather than the ECB's monetary policy. "The rises in the price of oil made increases in consumer prices unavoidable", he said.