ROME, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) --A leading Italian economist warns that the United States' monetary policy adjustments by the Federal Reserve are having huge and largely negative impacts on the 19-nation euro currency zone, especially high-debt countries like Italy.
Marcello Messori, director of the School of European Political Economy at Rome's LUISS University, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that the moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve may have helped force the hand of the European Central Bank.
Messori said the inflation-related challenges the European Central Bank is facing are greater than those in the U.S. because European countries are more dependent on energy imports and international supply chains which are now disrupted by the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
Messori further pointed out that restrictive monetary policy in the euro area could deal a blow to Italy, a country with high deficits.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service