More ECB action not ruled out but not needed for now: Coeure

Benoit Coeure, executive board member of the European Central Bank (ECB) gestures during an interview with Reuters in Frankfurt February 26, 2013. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski·Reuters· (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has not ruled out further moves to help the euro zone but they are not needed for the moment, one of the bank's top policymakers, Benoit Coeure, said on Wednesday. In an interview with German newspaper die Zeit, Executive Board member Coeure said the ECB remained satisfied that euro zone inflation would pick back up to its preferred comfort zone of just under 2 percent. "Looking ahead, if we come to the conclusion that this (inflation staying too far below target) remains the case, we would have to act again. This is not our scenario at this stage, however," Coeure said. He added there were a number of things it could do, including cutting interest rates again, charging banks who hoard cash by moving its deposit rate into negative territory, or providing additional liquidity. "Which of these options - if any - we will use depends on the economic developments. We could also combine these measures," Coeure added. (Reporting by Marc Jones)

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