ECB's Mersch says too early to declare victory over weak economy

PARIS: It is still premature to declare victory over economic weakness in the euro zone despite the latest figures showing a pick-up in inflation, European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Friday.

"Statistics from just one month is not going to change our position," Mersch told a conference in Paris.

Mersch, considered a hawk, added that wages were not growing fast enough in the bloc to fuel inflationary pressure.

Inflation - below the bank's 2 percent target for over 3 years - is now on the way up, probably exceeding 1 percent early next year, in what could provide relief for the ECB but also an argument for hawks on its Governing Council to reduce stimulus.