FRANKFURT, Dec 12 — New ECB chief Christine Lagarde said today she does not favour one monetary stance over another, but simply aims to make sound decisions for the eurozone.

In her first outing before the press as president of the European Central Bank, Lagarde took pains to urge observers not to over interpret her every word or compare her to former ECB boss Mario Draghi.

“Don’t overinterpret, don’t second guess, don’t cross reference, I’m going to be myself and therefore probably different,” she told journalists.

“Once and for all, I’m neither a dove nor a hawk, and my ambition is to be this owl, that is often associated with a little bit of wisdom,” said Lagarde.

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In central bank jargon, monetary doves are deemed more favourable to easing than the so-called hawks.

The ECB’s regular monetary policy setting meeting is always closely watched but today is more tightly scrutinised than ever because Lagarde is the bank’s first boss who does not have a central bank pedigree.

Lagarde — a lawyer and not an economist by training — has herself pleaded for patience, saying she has been on a steep “learning curve” since taking up the job last month.

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“I am trying to learn German, but I am also trying to learn central bank language,” the one-time French finance minister told MEPs last week, acknowledging the market-changing impact of even a single ambiguous word.

“So bear with me, show a little bit of patience, don’t over-interpret.” — AFP