Euro zone headed for robust growth despite Ukraine war: Lagarde

FRANKFURT – The euro zone economy is still set for robust growth this year, even if war in Ukraine is going to be a drag via high commodity prices, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday.

“If the baseline scenario of the staff projections materialises, the economy should still grow robustly in 2022,” Lagarde said a speech that largely repeated the bank’s policy stance following last Thursday’s Governing Council meeting.

While other growth scenarios are also possible, inflation is still expected to decrease progressively and settle at around the ECB’s 2% target in 2024, she added.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)