ECB: Gloomy on economy, upbeat on euro
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The European Central Bank offered a slightly more pessimistic outlook for the eurozone economy Thursday and said it expects inflation to rise this year on higher oil prices.
The ECB expects eurozone economic activity in 2012 to range between a decline of 0.5% and an increase of 0.3%. That's worse that August, when the bank projected activity would range between a contraction of 0.4% and growth of 1%.
The latest projections were issued after a policy meeting at ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, where the bank's governing council voted to hold interest rates steady at 1%, as expected.
ECB loans out 529.5 billion euros to European banks
More loans.... thanks to the south Europeian Countries
Greece Problems:
Greece debt swap down to the wire
While investors were concerned about Greece earlier this week, "today they are not nervous and seem to be happy with what's going on, and they certainly know more about what's going on than I do," said Draghi.Draghi rejected criticism about the relaxation of collateral standards at the ECB, which he said "could be a lot looser."
He also downplayed concerns that the German Bundesbank, which has opposed the ECB's controversial government bond buying program, has been isolated on the bank's governing council.
While he acknowledged that "there is always a difference of views" on the council, he stressed that "it is not only Germany against everybody else."
"I am determined to do the right thing, and to do them together," he said
Greece is now a problem, for over a year and eating all our money up... without ever paying it back...
