歐洲央行面臨推低歐元的壓力

Pressure is mounting on the European Central Bank to take action against a persistently strong euro with a leading industrialist calling on Frankfurt to tackle the “crazy” strength of the currency.

歐洲央行(ECB)面臨越來越大的壓力，要求其對持續堅挺的歐元採取行動。一位商界領袖呼籲法蘭克福方面採取措施應對歐元“瘋狂”的高匯率。

Fabrice Brégier, chief executive of Airbus’s passenger jet business, said the ECB should intervene to push the value of the euro against the dollar down by 10 per cent from an “excessive” $1.35 to $1.20-$1.25.

空客(Airbus)客機業務首席執行官法布里斯•佈雷吉耶(Fabrice Brégier)表示，歐洲央行應出手干預，將“過高”的1歐元兌1.35美元的比價推低10%，至1歐元兌1.20至1.25美元。

“[Europe] cannot be the only economic zone of the world that doesn’t consider its currency as a weapon . . . as a key asset to promote its economy,” he said in an interview with the FT.

佈雷吉耶在接受英國《金融時報》採訪時表示：“全世界所有經濟區都將自己的貨幣視爲武器……作爲促進自身經濟發展的關鍵資產，（歐洲）不能例外。”

Mr Brégier’s comments coincide with calls from the International Monetary Fund and some eurozone politicians for the bank to consider a programme of quantitative easing to tackle low inflation, sluggish economic growth and the strong euro.

佈雷吉耶的言論呼應了國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)以及歐元區一些政界人士對歐洲央行的呼籲，即考慮推出量化寬鬆計劃，以解決低通脹、經濟增長疲軟以及歐元匯率偏高的問題。

Benoit Coeuré, a member of the ECB’s executive board, acknowledged in an interview the stronger the euro became, the more the bank would come under pressure to act. “A lot of the low level of inflation . . . is due to the strength of the euro so the stronger the euro the more we have to do monetary accommodation.”

歐洲央行執行董事會成員伯努瓦•克雷(Benoit Coeuré)在一次採訪中承認，歐元越是走強，歐洲央行就越是受到採取行動的壓力。“低通脹在很大程度上……是歐元的強勢地位所致，因此歐元越是走強，我們就越需要推出寬鬆貨幣政策。”

He rejected calls to target the exchange rate explicitly. “Exchange rates are set on global markets, so it wouldn’t be wise or possible for us to have it as a policy target.” He also insisted there was no pressing need for the ECB to embark on a round of QE. “I see the odds as being low,” he said. “I am very convinced that what we decided already will work and will prop up inflation.”

他拒絕了設定明確匯率目標的呼籲。“匯率是由全球市場決定的，因此將匯率作爲一項政策目標既不明智也不可能。”他還堅稱，歐洲央行並無緊迫必要啓動一輪量化寬鬆。“我認爲可能性不大。”他說，“我非常確信我們已經做出的決策將發揮作用，推動通脹上行。”

Last month, the ECB unveiled a range of exceptional measures, including cutting a key interest rate below zero, to tackle the threat of deflation. Despite the strength of the measures, the euro has barely weakened, and was worth $1.36 yesterday. Some economists believe that the euro is unlikely to depreciate against the dollar considerably unless the ECB engages in QE.

上月，歐洲央行推出了削減關鍵利率至負數等一系列特殊舉措，以對付通縮威脅。儘管這些舉措力度很大，但歐元幾乎絲毫沒有走弱，昨日收於1歐元兌1.36美元。一些經濟學家認爲，除非歐洲央行祭出量化寬鬆，否則歐元相對於美元不太可能大幅走低。

Mr Coeuré expressed doubts about the effectiveness of QE, which has been used by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. “Something that has worked in the US or in the UK may not work in the eurozone because we are financed by banks not by financial markets. The level of government bond yields is very low. Why would we need QE?”

克雷對量化寬鬆的有效性表示懷疑。美聯儲(Fed)和英國央行(BoE)都採取了這種政策。“對美國或英國有效的政策，對歐元區或許不會起作用，因爲我們的融資來自銀行，而不是金融市場。眼下政府債券收益率水平很低。我們有何理由需要量化寬鬆？”

Any explicit attempt to weaken the euro and is likely to be opposed in Germany. “We need a stable currency and we have one. The euro at $1.35 gives us a stable framework for competitiveness,” said one senior German official. “We do not need to talk the euro up or down. Currency manipulation is not a route to competitiveness, it is a soft alternative to hard explanations to the electorate.”

任何明顯旨在拉低歐元的舉動，都很可能遭到德國的反對。德國一位高官表示：“我們需要穩定的貨幣，而我們也已經有了穩定的貨幣。1歐元兌1.35美元爲我們提高競爭力提供了穩定的框架。我們沒必要唱高或唱衰歐元。操縱貨幣不是提高競爭力的途徑，相對於向選民解釋的艱鉅任務，它是相對容易的選擇。”