European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said today that 2010 'could be the year of a moderate recovery' if confidence returns to markets and the economy.
'Like my colleague Ben Bernanke, I think 2009 will be very difficult,' Trichet said in an interview on France's Europe 1 radio. Bernanke is the head of the US Federal Reserve.
He added that the world is in 'a period that remains very uncertain'.
'There is a fairly general consensus in public and private institutions that 2010 could be the year of a moderate recovery in growth. But this is not guaranteed. It depends on how the authorities, as well as citizens and companies, regain confidence,' he said.
Trichet also said the European Central Bank, which cut interest rates to a record low of 1.5% this month, had adopted 'many very important unconventional measures' and was planning 'complementary measures.'
Amid calls from the US that European governments should spend more on anti-crisis stimulus plans, Trichet said: 'Europe's rescue plans are bold. Just look at the level of deficits that many countries have reached.'
Fed chairman Bernanke had voiced cautious optimism about the US economy on Sunday, saying that the 'green shoots' of economic revival were already evident and forecasting an end to the recession later this year.
