MANNHEIM, Germany—European Central Bank policy is working and the central bank stands ready to do more if conditions demand it, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said Tuesday.
In opening remarks at an academic conference here, Mr. Constancio said that the ECB's new nonstandard policies "have successfully improved financial and credit conditions in the euro area and contributed to supporting the normalization of price stability, as well as the continuing economic recovery."
Mr. Constancio's comment comes amid encouraging signals about growth in the eurozone despite the turmoil on global financial markets triggered by worries about the health of China's economy.
The eurozone economy kept up a solid pace in August with expansions in both manufacturing and services, according to purchasing manager surveys released Friday. The eurozone economy is on track to grow 0.4% in the third quarter from the second, marking a slight acceleration from 0.3%, data firm Markit said.
The outlook for prices in the eurozone is also encouraging, Mr. Constancio said, according to prepared remarks published on the ECB's website.
"I am confident that full implementation of the private and public sector asset-purchase program, as announced, will lead to a sustained return of inflation rates toward levels consistent with our definition of price stability, underpinning the firm anchoring of medium to long-term inflation expectations."
At the same time, the ECB is ready to react fast to changing circumstances should it be necessary, he said.
"As always, the [ECB's] governing council stands ready to use all the instruments available within its mandate to respond to any material change to the outlook for price stability," he said.
This comment echoed remarks made by ECB President Mario Draghi at the ECB's most recent news conference in mid-July.
Consumer prices in the 19 countries using the euro fell 0.6% in July on the month and rose 0.2% from July last year, according to the European Union's statistics agency.
Write to Todd Buell at todd.buell@wsj.com
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