FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The president of the European Central Bank on Monday gave the clearest sign yet that policymakers will aim to raise interest rates as…
The president of the European Central Bank on Monday gave the clearest sign yet that policymakers will aim to raise interest rates as soon as July to ease surging inflation. In a blog post on the Frankfurt, Germany-based bank’s website, President Christine Lagarde said she expects asset purchases that buoy the economy would end “very early in the third quarter.”
“This would allow us a rate lift-off at our meeting in July, in line with our forward guidance,” she wrote. “Based on the current outlook, we are likely to be in a position to exit negative interest rates by the end of the third quarter.”
The central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro currency has trailed others around the world in interest rate hikes meant to combat inflation. Consumer prices rose as countries rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and then got worse as Russia’s war in Ukraine drove energy and food costs even higher and further squeezed supply chains.
