04/18/2024 – 7:52
The vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, said this Thursday, the 18th, that if there is more evidence that inflation in the euro zone is converging towards the official target of 2% in a sustainable manner, it will be “appropriate to reduce the current level of monetary policy restrictions”, in yet another indication that the ECB may cut interest rates at its next meeting in June.
In a speech to present the ECB's annual report at the European Parliament, Guindos assessed that inflation has decreased this year and is expected to fall further in the medium term, but at a slower pace.
According to him, measures of underlying inflation have been slowing down, but domestic price pressures remain high and wage growth remains strong, even if it has moderated recently.
On Wednesday, Eurostat research confirmed that the euro zone's annual consumer inflation rate (CPI) slowed to 2.4% in March, from 2.6% in February.
Guindos also said that the ECB will not commit in advance to a path for its interest rates and that its monetary policy decisions will continue to depend on the behavior of economic data and will be taken at each meeting.
Last week, the ECB left its key interest rates unchanged for the fifth time in a row, but signaled the possibility of a rate cut in June.
#reduce #monetary #tightening #inflation #remains #target #ECB #leader