ECB can adapt policy faster if high inflation persists – Villeroy

PARIS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will adapt its monetary policy more quickly if inflation remains high for longer than expected, ECB policymaker and French central banker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Tuesday.

French inflation, which hit a 13-year high in December, is expected to ease progressively in the coming months to below 2% by year-end, Villeroy told a conference at Paris’ Dauphine University.

“If inflation should prove more persistent, have no doubt that we would have the will and capacity to adapt our monetary policy faster to ensure the return towards our 2% objective,” Villeroy said.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Gareth Jones)