The European Central Bank has cut its growth forecasts for the eurozone, piling on the gloom even as it failed to deliver an early Christmas present in the form of more stimulus, the Guardian reports.

The ECB’s president, Mario Draghi, said the governing council would reassess in early 2015 the policy measures it had already taken before deciding whether to try and breathe some life into the region’s stagnating economy.

Some investors were left disappointed that he did not announce a programme of full-blown quantitative easing (QE), where the central bank would buy government bonds to stave off a deflationary spiral. However, Draghi suggested he would not allow opposition from Germany, which has been a staunch opponent of QE in the eurozone, to stop a programme if it was considered necessary.

“Do we need to have unanimity to proceed on QE or can we have a majority? I think we don’t need unanimity,” he said, in what was interpreted as a strong signal to Germany’s Bundesbank policymakers.

The ECB cut its 2014 growth forecast for the eurozone to 0.8% from the 0.9% it was predicting three months ago. The downgrades were sharper for 2015 and 2016. Growth next year is expected to be 1%, down from the earlier forecast of 1.6%, while the 2016 forecast was cut to 1.5% from 1.9%.

Draghi warned risks remained that growth would come in even weaker. “In particular, the weak euro area growth momentum, along with high geopolitical risks, has the potential to dampen confidence and especially private investment,” he said.

The ECB also lowered its inflation target following steep falls in the oil price with the annual rate expected to be just 1.6% even in 2016, still below its target of close to but below 2%. Eurozone inflation is currently just 0.3%.

The next meeting of the governing council, on Jan 22, could be a crucial point for the ECB as it updates the market on its policy decisions.