Lagarde comments at ECB press conference

FRANKFURT, Dec 18 (Reuters) - ⁠The European ⁠Central ‍Bank kept its policy rates steady on Thursday and took a more positive ‍view on a euro zone economy that has ​shown resilience to global trade shocks.

Following are highlights of ​ECB President Christine Lagarde's comments at a news conference after the policy meeting.

INFLATION OUTLOOK

"Inflation should decline in the near term, ​mostly because past energy price rises will drop out of the annual rates. Staff ​expects it to stay below 2% on average in '26 and '27. With energy ‌inflation negative over most of this period and inflation excluding energy gradually declining, ​inflation should then return to ⁠target in '28 amid a strong rise in energy inflation."

RESILIENT ECONOMY

"The economy has been ‌resilient. It grew by 0.3% in the third quarter, mainly reflecting stronger consumption and investment."

UNDERLYING INFLATION

"Indicators of ‌underlying inflation have changed little over recent months and remain ‌consistent with our 2% medium term target."

WAGE GROWTH

"Surveys on wage expectations suggest that wage growth will ease in the ‍coming quarters before stabilising somewhat below 3% towards the end of 2026."

TRADE TO ⁠DRAG ON GROWTH

"The challenging environment for global trade is likely to remain a drag on growth in the euro area this year and next."

(Reporting by Reuters Global News Desk)

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