"We do see some initial signs of underlying inflation going up very, very, very slowly but it's too early to be optimistic about that," Knot said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum.

The ECB left policy unchanged on Thursday but said that risks to the growth outlook have receded and also took a more optimistic view on inflation, which has undershot its target since 2013.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)