(Frankfurt) European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde on Wednesday reaffirmed the monetary institution’s intention to raise rates by 0.5 percentage points in March, as the economic horizon brightens. in the euro zone.
Given inflationary pressures that remain strong, particularly in non-energy prices, the ECB “intends to raise interest rates by an additional 0.50 percentage point” at its next meeting in March, it said. Mme Lagarde in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
His intervention was delayed for more than three hours due to the presence of Kurdish activists who demonstrated inside the European building in Strasbourg on Wednesday, at 24e anniversary of the arrest of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned in Turkey.
The ECB will publish a new set of economic forecasts in March in order to “assess the subsequent trajectory of our monetary policy”, added the former French minister.
If its intention materializes well in March, the monetary institution will have raised its rates six times in a row since July, in all by 3.5 percentage points. The rates will then approach a so-called “restrictive” level which slows down consumption and investment more than it supports them, in order to reduce the pressures on prices.
Keeping interest rates “at restrictive levels will eventually reduce inflation by dampening demand and also protect against the risk of a persistent rise in inflation expectations” by households and businesses, Ms.me The guard.
The European economy should post lower inflation this year at 5.6% (-0.5 points) and better growth at 0.9% (+0.6 points) than expected, after avoiding a recession this winter despite the war in Ukraine, according to the latest forecasts from the European Commission published on Monday.
“We are committed to bringing inflation back to our medium-term target of 2%, in line with our mandate, and we will take the necessary steps to achieve it,” said Mr.me The guard.