Italy's finance minister says more action by ECB is 'welcome'

LONDON (Reuters) - Italian finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan said more action from the European Central Bank would be welcome to revive growth in the euro zone. Earlier on Friday, ECB President Mario Draghi suggested further stimulus to rescue the euro zone economy was on the way, saying "excessively low" inflation had to be raised quickly by whatever means necessary. "I'm afraid Mario Draghi is signalling a real problem for this disappointing performance of the European economy, especially the euro area," Padoan told Britain's Sky television during a visit to London. "Certainly more action from the ECB is welcome." Asked about the possibility of the ECB buying government bonds as a new form of stimulus, Padoan said: "I think that there is common agreement on the fact that all instruments, including monetary policy, must be used -- especially if we see increasing signs of weakness in the euro area." (Reporting by Liisa Tuhkanen and Andy Bruce; writing by William Schomberg)