European Central Bank Executive Board member Fabio Panetta said on Wednesday that the euro area's current macroeconomic picture is consistent with a normalisation of the monetary stance. He added that the ECB will gradually and smoothly pursue the normalisation process, which started a few weeks ago. However, the official stressed that the ECB should avoid even casual forward guidance on the timing of rate moves.
Panetta also noted that political and geopolitical risks remain high and warned that the ECB should be prepared to deal with the consequences of political shocks by using the full range of tools.