The inflation expectation for 2017 was up from 1.3% to 1.7%, and expected to be 1.6% in 2018 after rising to 2% in February, Draghi said, while growth is expected to be 1.8% this year and 1.7% the year after.
After side-stepping questions asking whether interest rates could rise before the end of quantitative easing, Aberdeen Asset Management investment manager Patrick O’Donnell, said markets could begin to move “on the assumption the ECB will remove accommodation towards the end of the year”.
He said: “It’s a classic Draghi technique of saying something that will move markets without actually doing anything.
“Due to this, and a wordy response to a question about raising rates before QE ends, markets will now start to recalibrate on the assumption that the ECB will remove accommodation towards the end of the year.”
