FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The Latest on the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting (all times local):
2:45 p.m.
The European Central Bank has lowered its projection for inflation next year to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent, a step that could support arguments for more monetary stimulus to raise price levels closer to the bank’s goal.
But the ECB left its outlook for 2018 unchanged at 1.6 percent. That indicates it sees itself getting gradually closer to its goal of just under 2 percent over the longer term.
The bank has implemented a raft of stimulus measures in an effort to raise inflation from the current annual rate of 0.2 percent, which it expects to be the average for this year.