The European Central Bank's chief economist Philip Lane stated on Friday that interest-rate cuts are not a kind of near-term topic.
The official acknowledged that the euro area's December inflation number broadly confirms the ECB's assessment from its December meeting and noted that the central bank's policymakers are going to be looking at the incoming data.
Lane added that the topic of interest rate cuts will obviously come to the forefront once the rate-setters have developed sufficient confidence that they are firmly on their way back to 2% inflation.