The European Central Bank should ease policy at a measured pace to balance the risk of needlessly depressing growth and fuelling excessive inflation, ECB chief economist Philip Lane argued on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank should avoid excessive caution in lowering its key interest rate, but must also be alert to signs that inflation is taking longer than expected to fall to its target, Chief Economist Philip Lane said Wednesday.

Chief Economist, Philip Lane, has suggested that the bank needs to maintain flexibility in its monetary policy due to the continued risk of inflation in both directions.

European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane on Wednesday made the case for measured policy easing because excessively slow rate cuts would weigh on euro zone growth but moving too quickly could delay a long-predicted drop in inflation.