The Head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has said that the eurozone recovery is “increasingly solid”, with fewer potential risks ahead.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, Mario Draghi, who has served as President of the bank since 2011, noted that economic confidence for the continent was at the highest level since the financial crisis.
Mr Draghi added that the confidence has been driven in part by higher consumer spending levels, wage growth and a global economic recovery.
However, the bank said it intends to keep interest rates on hold at 0.00 percent, as concerns over inflation levels continue to weigh on European economies.
Draghi ultimately remained cautious in tone overall, in particular with respect to future outlook for the European economies, adding:
“The risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook, while moving toward a more balanced configuration, are still tilted to the downside”.
Draghi noted that despite recovery across most sectors and in global trade, rising energy prices and fluctuating currency movements would likely impact inflationary levels further.
With regards to the upcoming French election, Draghi said during questions that the political uncertainty had not impacted decisions, commenting: “We don’t do monetary policy based on likely election outcomes”.
Independent candidate Emmanuel Macron and National Front Leader Marine Le Pen went through to the second round of the French elections on Monday, in what has been tipped to be the most unpredictable in decades.
Despite sustained momentum for far-right candidate Le Pen, Macron has increasingly emerged as the front-runner in the race with polls placing him ahead. Should Macron secure a victory, this would be his first position in elected office.
This follows an encouraging round of Eurozone Purchasing Managers Index (PMI),with France exhibiting strong growth alongside more moderate figures from Germany.
In France, the combined manufacturing and services sector index stood at 57.4 for April, as opposed to 56.8. Conversely, the headline composite index for Germany fell to 56.3 in April from 57.1 in March.
The governing council of the European Central Bank are next set to convene on May 17th in Frankfurt for a non-policy meeting.