COPENHAGEN, Oct 3: European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday that the eurozone economy was failing to grow at its full potential rate, making its performance less than satisfactory.

“You will probably share the view that the growth performance of the euro area cannot be deemed fully satisfactory,” Trichet said at an event here hosted by the Danish central bank, the Nationalbank.

He said long-term potential growth of the 12-state area was estimated at between 2.0 and 2.5 per cent, but “probably closer to 2.0 per cent than to 2.5 per cent”.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.9 per cent on average per year between 1999 and 2004, he noted.

“The single monetary policy, geared towards price stability and the anchoring of inflation expectations, lends ongoing support to economic activity,” he said.—AFP