mario draghi : ecb press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr mario draghi, president of the european central bank, and mr luis de guindos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 26 july 2018. * * * ladies and gentlemen, the vice - president and i are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. we will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council. based on our regular economic and monetary analyses, we decided to keep the key ecb interest rates unchanged. we continue to expect them to remain at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2 % over the medium term. regarding non - standard monetary policy measures, we will continue to make net purchases under the asset purchase programme ( app ) at the current monthly pace of €30 billion until the end of september 2018. we anticipate that, after september 2018, subject to incoming data confirming our medium - term inflation outlook, we will reduce the monthly pace of the net asset purchases to €15 billion until the end of december 2018 and then end net purchases. we intend to reinvest the principal payments from maturing securities purchased under the app for an extended period of time after the end of our net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary to maintain favourable liquidity conditions and an ample degree of monetary accommodation. while uncertainties, notably related to the global trade environment, remain prominent, the information available since our last monetary policy meeting indicates that the euro area economy is proceeding along a solid and broad - based growth path. the underlying strength of the economy confirms our confidence that the sustained convergence of inflation to our aim will continue in the period ahead and will be maintained even after a gradual winding - down of our net asset purchases. nevertheless, significant monetary policy stimulus is still needed to support the further build - up of domestic price pressures and headline inflation developments over the medium term. this support will continue to be provided by the net asset purchases until the end of the year, by the sizeable stock of acquired assets and the associated reinvestments, and by our enhanced forward guidance on the key ecb interest rates. in any event, the governing council stands ready to adjust all of its instruments as appropriate to ensure that inflation continues to move towards the governing council ’ s

to improve our monetary policy communication. conclusion to conclude, let me summarise the messages the mpc would like people to hear about monetary policy. we are not slamming the brakes on this economy, but we are easing off the accelerator, moving towards a more balanced or neutral interest rate setting. we do not want to slow the economy down too much, and we are cognisant of the many challenges facing domestic producers and consumers. at the same time, we also do not want to join the large group of countries in the world today which took low inflation for granted, kept policy too loose for too long and ended up way above their targets, to the great unhappiness of almost all citizens. it is a delicate balancing act, and as an independent central bank operating an inflation - targeting framework, we aim to deliver moderate interest rates and low and stable inflation over time in our policymaking decisions. thank you. page 8 of 8