ECB Trichet: Euro zone economy to rebound in 2010

By Karolina Slowikowska

WARSAW, April 18 (Reuters) - The euro zone economy should start recovering in 2010 after a difficult 2009, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Saturday in an interview aired on Polish TVN 24 channel and TVN24.pl portal.

Trichet also said it may be unwise for Poland to accelerate its euro adoption path and added that a country aspiring to join the euro bloc should be well prepared to do so.

"We are experiencing a period which is difficult and the year 2009 is obviously difficult for all economies in the world without any exception, but it is also true that we have all good reasons to consider that the recovery will take place in the course of 2010," Trichet was quoted as saying by TVN24.pl.

"There is a very wide consensus of forecasters and economists that consider that."

"The present times are difficult but they (euro zone citizens) can be reasonably confident in the future because there are a lot of good reasons to believe we will be better off next year."

On monetary policy, Trichet said he stuck to his comments at the ECB's news conference at the start of the month when he said the bank still had some room to lower its headline interest rate and promised to lay out plans in May for any alternative steps it could take to boost the recession-hit euro zone.

Trichet, who is due to unveil the ECB's plans for further unconventional policy steps next month, gave no details of these measures.

The ECB has cut its benchmark rate by 3 percentage points since October and is expected to cut its headline refinancing rate by another 25 basis points to 1.0 percent in May as the euro zone struggles in its worst recession since the currency was created.