AFP - European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday it was "premature" to declare the global financial crisis over.

But he said the bank had a strategy to withdraw the liquidity-providing measures it put in place to support the financial system through the credit crunch when the time was right to do so.

"As of today it is still premature to declare the financial crisis over. But when the appropriate time comes, there should be no concern about the ECB's determination and ability to exit," Trichet told a conference in Madrid.

The ECB is expected to provide details on how the measures will be scaled back at a meeting on December 3.

The chief of the central bank for the 330 million citizens across the 16 countries that use the euro currency has said that some of the exceptional support provided markets should be removed to ensure it does not cause an inflation threat.

Trichet said the bank would "continue to ensure a firm anchoring of medium term inflation expectations" of "below two percent but close to two percent".

After hitting a record high point of four percent in June and July 2008, eurozone inflation has fallen sharply amid the global economic downturn.

Prices across the eurozone fell in October on a 12-month comparison for the fifth month running, dropping 0.1 percent, compared to a decline of 0.3 percent recorded in September, according to the official Eurostat EU data agency.