“We are very likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points,” Lagarde said. “This was discussed at our last monetary policy meeting. Recent data confirms that this rate hike is very, very likely.’
Inflation is now four times higher than the 2% target, so the ECB is unlikely to stop raising interest rates any time soon. Another 50 basis points could be added in May. Investors are betting on an interest rate peaking at four percent, the highest percentage ever. “My biggest concern is inflation,” he says. ‘We don’t want to destroy the economy; this is not our goal. Our goal is to tame inflation.”
Inflation is a monster
Stubborn
“I can’t tell you how much interest rates will rise,” Lagarde said in the interview also published on the ECB’s website. “We are making progress, but there is still work to be done.” The head of the ECB is convinced that headline inflation will decrease in 2023. Core inflation is a more persistent problem. “I expect slightly better economic growth than the stagnation in the last quarter of 2022.”