Euro zone inflation could stay low for months - Bank of Italy official

ROME (Reuters) - Europe's economy needs more monetary stimulus to prop up the rate of inflation, which could stay low for some time, the deputy head of the Bank of Italy said in an interview published on Sunday.

Fabio Panetta's comments came after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said on Thursday the ECB was studying new stimulus measures in a bid to spur economic growth and shore up inflation.

"Inflation has been well below our target for the euro zone for some time and it could continue to be too low for several quarters," Panetta told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"Worsening conditions in the global economy weigh down on raw material prices and expectations of inflation. This requires more monetary stimulus," Panetta added.

He also said the Italian economy seemed to be growing at the same rate as in the first half of this year, when it emerged from a three-year recession to post first and second-quarter growth of 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Clelia Oziel)