Mario Draghi has cautioned that the pace of the eurozone’s recovery may be slowing, as the European Central Bank kept interest rates at record lows.
欧洲央行把利率维持在创纪录低位,与此同时,欧洲央行(ECB)行长马里奥•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)警告称,欧元区的复苏进程可能在放缓。
Meeting in Vienna, the ECB played down hopes that growth in the single currency was gaining momentum and left inflation and growth forecasts largely unchanged despite a strong start to the year.
在维也纳开会的欧洲央行弱化了有关欧元区的增长正形成势头的期待,并维持通胀和增长预期基本未变,尽管欧元区今年开年表现强劲。
The bank’s governing council also held back from allowing Greek banks to resume access to cheap loans, frustrating Athens’ hopes that it would take such a step this month.
此外,欧洲央行管理委员会并未允许希腊的银行重新获得廉价贷款,这挫败了希腊方面对于欧洲央行将在本月采取这种行动的愿望。
“The risks to the euro area growth outlook remain tilted to the downside, but the balance of risks has improved,” said Mr Draghi on Thursday, warning that second-quarter growth would “possibly [be] at a lower rate than in the first quarter”.
德拉吉周四表示:“欧元区增长前景仍偏向下行风险,但风险平衡有所好转。”他警告称,第二季度增速“可能会低于第一季度”。
The region grew 0.5 per cent between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of this year, outpacing the US and the UK and fuelling expectations that the single currency area’s sluggish recovery had reached a turning point.
从2015年第四季度至今年第一季度,欧元区经济增长0.5%,超过美国和英国,引发外界猜测欧元区的乏力复苏到达了一个转折点。
But while the ECB edged up its projections for growth and inflation this year to take account of higher oil prices and the strong start to the year, its economists’ forecasts for both variables for 2017 and 2018 were left virtually unchanged — in contrast with more bullish sentiment in the markets.
然而,尽管欧洲央行微幅上调了今年的增长和通胀预期,以计入油价上涨以及今年开年表现强劲的因素,但该行经济学家对2017年和2018年这两个变量的预测都几乎未变,相比之下,市场情绪较为乐观。
Mr Draghi added that the bank now expected 1.6 per cent growth this year, compared with its March estimate of 1.4 per cent growth.
德拉吉补充称,欧洲央行现在预计今年欧元区增速将达到1.6%,而其在3月的预测为增长1.4%。
Mr Draghi’s tone, and his staff’s economic forecasts, suggest the ECB remains unconvinced that the eurozone’s recovery has switched to a higher gear.
德拉吉的言论以及欧洲央行工作人员的经济预测似乎表明,欧洲央行仍不相信欧元区复苏已进入加速阶段。