Belgian Central Bank Governor and ECB governing council member Jan Smets says the European Central Bank did not signal a coming policy change last week

  • On the contrary, officials concluded that the outlook for inflation hadn't improved much since December
  • Denied that the ECB had taken even a small step toward an exit last week

Smets spoke in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:

The latest policy statement "does not in itself signal a coming change in the monetary-policy stance," Mr. Smets said. "It reflects a simple assessment of a somewhat changed reality, not more than that."

More here, at the Journal so it may be gated: ECB's Smets Says Bank Hasn't Taken First Step Toward Removing Stimulus