LONDON, Feb 6: European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet predicted on Monday that the recent improvement in eurozone growth was likely to continue. Addressing a conference here on the annual state of the world economy, Trichet said the pick-up in the 12-nation currency zone over the past few quarters “is expected to remain sustained”. He added that inflation expectations were “well-anchored”.

Speaking before the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, Trichet said the eurozone economy had shown signs of “increased resilience” despite the spike in energy costs. Trichet reiterated that the central bank stood ready to move on interest rates “at any time if there are changes to expectations of price stability”.

The eurozone economy is sailing along at a steady quarterly growth rate of about 0.6 per cent as consumer demand begins to recover, according to official EU estimates released last month. Inflation in the eurozone meanwhile rose to 2.4pc in January from 2.2pc the previous month, official data showed.—AFP