‘ECB should act fast to fight deflation risk’

European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said policymakers must take deflation risks seriously and shouldn’t wait too long to react.

While the euro area isn’t in a situation where price declines lead to postponed spending, “it is important that one takes deflation risks seriously and addresses them,” Nowotny, who is also governor of the Austrian central bank, said during a panel discussion late Monday in Vienna. “We shouldn’t wait too long with a reaction.”

The ECB is preparing to discuss large-scale asset purchases at a Jan. 22 meeting after a slump in oil prices sparked the first decline of annual consumer prices in more than five years. Policymakers disagree over whether so-called quantitative easing is needed, with officials including Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann arguing against fresh stimulus and others including ECB chief economist Peter Praet pressing ahead.

Nowotny said the Governing Council is discussing several options that include purchases of government and corporate bonds. The group is also debating whether to set a target size, and whether the risks related to any purchases will be shared among national central banks, he said.

Banque de France Gov. Christian Noyer signaled openness for making national central banks responsible for what they buy as a way to build consensus around QE.

“The general principle and I think it is a good one, is that we share income and risk,” he said in an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt published Monday. “But when it appears to be preferable we can and we have departed from it in very specific cases. I am pragmatic about that.” (Bloomberg)