Euro zone recovery, Macron win give ECB chance to consider unwinding policy

BARI, Italy (Reuters) - An economic recovery and robust outlook in the euro zone mean the European Central Bank may be able to look at normalising its ultra-loose monetary policy, German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said on Saturday.

Weidmann, one of the most conservative ECB policymakers, said the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president should give the single currency bloc an additional economic boost.

"The strengthening economic development in the euro zone and the robust outlook make a normalisation (of monetary policy) conceivable," Weidmann said at a meeting of the financial leaders of seven leading world economies in Bari, Italy.

But he said a rise in inflation should become more sustainable before the ECB considers such a move.

He added Macron's victory in France's presidential election should help boost growth in the euro zone. Macron won on a platform of reforming France and a business-friendly vision of European integration.

"The election victory of Macron gives a chance that the euro zone economy gets an additional momentum," Weidmann said.

(Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Mark Potter)