European Central Bank policymaker ‍Alvaro ‍Santos Pereira said on ​Tuesday inflation in the euro ⁠area was expected to remain ⁠at the ECB's ‌target level of around 2% in the ⁠coming months and any interest rate moves would depend on the state ⁠of the economy.

"Regarding ​whether there will be a rise ‍or fall (in rates), that will ​depend on the economic conditions, on whether there will be shocks," said Santos Pereira, who became governor of the Bank of Portugal and member of the ECB Governing ⁠Council in October, adding ‌that while growth had picked up ‌it was ⁠still insufficient.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, writing ⁠by Andrei Khalip)