ECB's Coeure: Inflation remains under control

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- A top European Central Bank official says the outlook for inflation remains subdued because of a slow economy.

Benoit Coeure said that inflation expectations remain "well anchored" in spite of market turbulence and uncertainty about the future.

The remarks Friday by Coeure, a member of the bank's six-member executive board, come as the ECB readies plans to purchase government bonds as a way to lower high borrowing costs for indebted governments.

Low inflation expectations could blunt one potential argument against the purchases -- that they might cause prices to rise by increasing the supply of money in the economy. Yet the ECB has already flooded banks with (euro) 1 trillion in emergency loans, and growth in the money supply still remains weak.

The inflation rate in the eurozone is 2.4 percent.