ECB Governing Council member Stournaras: The central bank will not hastily reach a conclusion to lower interest rates at the next meeting.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras stated that the ECB will not rush to cut interest rates at its final policy meeting of the year, although he did not rule out the possibility of further easing monetary policy. The Greek official said in an interview with MNI on Wednesday, "You will find that most arguments point to inflation and economic growth slowing down, but even so, we will not hastily conclude that we should cut rates at the next meeting." "The current economy is in a balanced state," he explained, "so why cut rates? That is the key question. If the economy continues to weaken, we will consider lowering rates." Stournaras reiterated that the eurozone economy faces downside risks, but also noted that there are upside risks to inflation - including the possibility that the price increases seen in the United States could spread to other regions globally.