Economic recovery in the euro zone is firmly established and inflation poses no threat, European Central Bank executive board member Otmar Issing said on Sunday.
"There's ongoing evidence that economic recovery is well underway and this is good news," he told the Institute of International Finance, which was holding a conference on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank twice-yearly meetings in Washington.
"Annual inflation should drop below 2 percent in 2005, in line with our definition of price stability," he added.
Issing said the conditions that would underpin a broadening of the recovery remained in place, citing stronger external demand that is bolstering investment and the ECB's assessment that "consumption should continue its gradual recovery."
The ECB meets on Thursday to review interest rates and is widely expected to hold them at 2 percent.
Issing declined to talk with reporters, citing the bank's "blackout" period around its policy meetings, but his remarks closely shadowed those of the ECB's last monthly bulletin.
Issing also alluded to global current account imbalances, which the bank sees as one threat to its outlook.
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