ECB moved ahead of the curve with stimulus: ECB's Kazimir

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's decision to provide even more stimulus was the right one given weak growth, Slovak central bank chief Peter Kazimir said on Tuesday.

"There was a clear consensus on the need of action, a clear consensus that the action will be in the form of package of measures," said Kazimir, who also sits on the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council.

The ECB decided earlier this month to cut rates to a new record low and restart bond purchases, hoping to prop up inflation and arrest a slowdown in growth.

Kazimir, a relative newcomer to the Governing Council, backed the decision to restart bond purchases, a controversial move which generated opposition from over a third of policymakers.

He said that the debate in the Governing Council was whether the ECB should merely react to weak data or take a bigger step to pre-empt further worsening.

"We made the right decision and we went ahead of the curve. That's the division line - whether to react to situations or go ahead of the curve," Kazimir said.

(Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)

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