IMF / BRIEFING

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) welcomed the European Central Bank’s decision to cut interest rates on Thursday and said that it’s had constructive talks with Argentina about its data. IMF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:18
• Production Date: 7 November 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND - IMF
• Subject Topical: ECONOMICS; ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
• Geographic Subject: ARGENTINA; EUROPE
• MAMS Id: U131107e

Description

STORY: IMF/BRIEFING WRAP
TRT:1:18
SOURCE: IMF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 7 NOVEMBER 2013, WASHINGTON DC/ RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT - WASHINGTON DC

1. Wide shot, exterior, IMF

7 November, 2013 WASHINGTON DC

2.SOUNDBITE(English) Gerry Rice, Director, Communications, IMF:
“We strongly welcome the decision by the ECB which we believe can help support the nascent recovery in the Euro-area. The decision is fully warranted by the weak inflation dynamics and substantial slack in the economy.”
3.Cutaway reporters
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Gerry Rice, Director, Communications, IMF:
“The IMF team and the European partners are now on the ground. They’re having the discussions. They’re assessing the budget and we will have to see what comes from that assessment. This will show the amount of measures needed to meet the agreed targets.”
5.Cutaway reporters
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Gerry Rice, Director, Communications, IMF:
“Fund staff had constructive discussions with the authorities on their efforts to improve official data on the consumer price index and GDP including technical exchanges on the authorities ongoing development of the new national consumer price index.”

RECENT - WASHINGTON DC

7. Wide shot, exterior, IMF

Storyline

The International Monetary Fund welcomed the European Central Bank’s decision to cut interest rates on Thursday. The ECB surprised financial markets earlier Thursday by cutting its principle interest rate to a record low of 0.25 percent.

“We strongly welcome the decision by the ECB which we believe can help support the nascent recovery in the Euro-area. The decision is fully warranted by the weak inflation dynamics and substantial slack in the economy,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.

Also in Europe, a joint IMF/European Commission/ECB team is currently in Athens reviewing the program with the Greek government.

“The IMF team and the European partners are now on the ground. They’re having the discussions. They’re assessing the budget and we will have to see what comes from that assessment. This will show the amount of measures needed to meet the agreed targets,” Rice said.

Next week, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is to submit a report to the IMF Executive Board on Argentina’s statistics.

The Board had called on Argentina to address questions regarding Argentina’s official inflation and GDP data last winter. Rice says that Fund staff has had constructive talks with Argentina about the issue.

“Fund staff had constructive discussions with the authorities on their efforts to improve official data on the consumer price index and GDP including technical exchanges on the authorities ongoing development of the new national consumer price index,” Rice said.