FRANKFURT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said here Thursday that the bank will decide on the calibration of its policy instruments beyond the end of the year, saying that "probably the bulk of these decisions will be taken in October".
Draghi admitted that "very, very preliminary" discussions over QE (quantitative easing) issues in the euro area had already taken place Thursday.
However, "on inflation, we have to be confident, patient and persistent," Draghi said at a press conference.
The ECB decided Thursday that Eurozone base interest rate, namely the interest rate on main refinancing operations, will remain at 0.00 percent, with the marginal lending rate and deposit rate remaining at 0.25 percent and minus 0.40 percent respectively.
In the meantime, the ECB revised its economic growth projection for the euro area upwards to 2.2 percent in 2017, while the growth rate is expected to slow down to 1.8 percent in 2018 and 2019.
In terms of inflation rate, the ECB revised its forecast for next two years slightly downwards, namely, the euro area Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) would rise by 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent respectively in 2018 and 2019, even though the projection for 2017 remained unchanged at 1.5 percent.
Regarding non-standard monetary policy, the ECB reaffirmed that its ongoing asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of 60 billion euro, would run until the end of December 2017 or beyond.
The medium-term outlook for euro area economic growth and inflation remains broadly unchanged, Draghi told the press conference, underlying that "the recent volatility in the exchange rate represents a source of uncertainty which requires monitoring with regard to its possible implications for the medium-term outlook for price stability".
Keeping forward guidance basically unchanged, Draghi said "bottom line is interest rates will remain at present levels for extended period of time and well past horizon of net asset purchases".
