The monetary policy pursued by the European Central Bank (ECB) has allowed eurozone interest rates to be decoupled from those elsewhere, notably in the US, a top ECB official says.
"This year we cut interest rates twice and where we formulated our forward guidance," ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure told journalists.
"It is consistent with our strategy, objectives and in addition to our communication and it has worked by decoupling (the) interest rate, for example, from the US. It's not a 100 per cent decoupling but it was not the aim," Coeure said.
The US Federal Reserve has made clear its intention to "taper" or start gradually phasing out some of its anti-crisis measures.
The prospect has spooked investors in Europe that the ECB might also begin to reverse its ultra-loose monetary policy stance, which has fed into eurozone interest rates in general.
Quizzed about the ECB's next possible moves, Coeure reiterated that the central bank "has a bit of time" to consider options.
Asked whether it might embark on so-called quantitative easing or the purchase of assets, he replied: "we can use it" under the ECB's own treaty, "but I don't see inflation prospects requiring that" at present.
Eurozone inflation is very low at 0.9 per cent and far short of the ECB's target of close to but under 2.0 per cent.
The ECB is pencilling in average annual inflation of 1.4 per cent for 2013, followed by 1.1 per cent in 2014 and then 1.3 per cent in 2015.
