ECB’s Nowotny: Sees a slight downward revision to central bank’s economic outlook

The European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Ewald Nowotny, referring to the latest GDP growth figures, said that it has not seen anything that would require an adjustment of monetary policy outlook.

   •  We expect a positive economic outlook to continue but risks exist.
   •  Assumes monetary policy normalization steps will be carried out as announced, including the end of bond purchases at end of the year.
   •  On growth, one must distinguish between longer-term trends and special effects, and currently, there are some special effects including German auto deliveries.
   •  Difficult to say what effect of US trade policies will have.
   •  Much of it is more announcements than measures but those too can have a psychological effect.
   •  Risk of hard Brexit being taken ever more seriously.
   •  We have seen a certain stabilization of Italian bond spreads, albeit at a high level.