EU inflation above normal-Lagarde
2023.01.19 08:07
EU inflation above normal-Lagarde
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, has expressed concern that inflation remains “way too high” despite hopes that price growth may have recently reached its peak.
Lagarde reiterated the ECB’s plan to bring inflation in the euro zone back down to its 2% target through aggressive monetary policy decisions while speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As part of its ongoing effort to quell soaring inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates by a total of 250 basis points in each of its last four meetings.
According to Lagarde, “We shall stay the course until such time as we have moved into restrictive territory for long enough to return inflation to 2% in a timely manner.”
Lagarde previously stated to the markets that there is still “more ground to cover” and that the current wave of increases in borrowing costs will not end before the end of the year.
According to data from earlier this month, lower energy costs were largely to blame for the Eurozone’s December slowdown to an annual rate of 9.2%. However, the figure, which excludes volatile items like energy and food, reached a new high of 5.2%, which may have dampened some hopes that the recent price increase has subsided.
