ECB's Coeure says inflation will take time to recover

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's exceptional monetary stimulus will take time to boost euro zone inflation although it is already helping growth, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Monday. "Monetary policy decreases the cost of investing, including over the long term for companies and small and mid-sized firms," Coeure said in an interview on France Inter radio. "That's working and creating growth, but where we're still waiting for results is on inflation, because it takes time and because energy prices are still low," he said, adding that the ECB expected inflation to near its target just below 2 percent only in 2018. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Laurence Frost)