LISBON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said the ECB would remain "patient, persistent and prudent" in its monetary policy at a forum in Portugal on Tuesday.

"We will remain patient in determining the timing of the first rate rise and will take a gradual approach to adjusting policy thereafter," Draghi told delegates for the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, a town 29 km northwest of Lisbon.

He added: "The path of very short-term interest rates that is implicit in the term structure of today's money-market interest rates broadly reflects these principles."

These comments suggest that markets generally got things right in reacting to last week's ECB announcement that it would keep interest rates low until the summer of 2019, while phasing out its quantitative easing program by the end of 2018.

The euro fell against all the major currencies in foreign exchange trading markets, while euro-denominated bonds were sold in favor of U.S. dollar. More of the same activity was seen following Draghi's speech on Tuesday.

Draghi also made passing reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive trade tariffs in saying that "uncertainty permeates the economic outlook."

Draghi said "the downside risks to the outlook come from three main sources: the threat of increased global protectionism prompted by the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs by the United States, rising oil prices triggered by geopolitical risks in the Middle East, and the possibility for persistent heightened financial market volatility."

This theme may be explored further on Wednesday afternoon in a roundtable policy panel discussion featuring Draghi and the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.

The ECB Forum on Central Banking, entitled "Price and wage-setting in advance economies", began on Monday and finishes with a dinner hosted by the Bank of Portugal on Wednesday.?