ECB must be prepared to discuss rate cuts – Centeno

DAVOS, Switzerland  – The European Central Bank must be ready to discuss rate cuts and should not take any policy option off the table, Portuguese central bank governor Mario Centeno said in Davos on Tuesday.

“When the time comes, we will discuss rate cuts,” Centeno told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. “If you ask me if this is the time, I think we need to be prepared to discuss the topics and being data-dependent means taking all data on board.”

READ: European Central Bank keeps key interest rate at record high

Centeno said no option should be taken off the table, a likely response to some colleagues who say that the topic of rate cuts, expected by markets to start this spring, is premature.