Luis de Guindos, Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB), said that the Eurozone may have already entered a recession phase in the fourth quarter of last year, and the outlook is not favorable, according to major foreign media including Bloomberg on the 10th (local time).
According to the report, Vice President de Guindos attended a conference held in Madrid, Spain, and stated, "Qualitative indicators showed economic contraction even in December (last year), confirming a technical recession in the second half of last year and a short-term downturn."
He also said, "According to current data, the future remains uncertain, and the outlook has tilted downward," adding that construction and manufacturing have been particularly hard hit, and the service sector is expected to follow in the coming months.
Regarding interest rates, he did not deliver any new messages. He maintained his previous view that the policy rate in the 4% range, sustained for a 'sufficiently long period,' will help bring inflation down to the ECB's target of 2%.
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