The head of the Italian central bank, Ignazio Visco, argued against the view that it is currently better to raise interest rates in the euro area too much than too little. The risks are the same for both approaches, the council member of the European Central Bank (ECB) said in a speech at an event in Rome on Monday.
“I am not convinced that today it is better to tighten too much than too little,” said the governor of the Banca d’Italia. Similar voices can be heard from Greece: from the point of view of the head of the central bank there, Yannis Stournaras, the ECB should stop raising interest rates so sharply because of the slowdown in the economy.
“In my view, the adjustment of interest rates should be more gradual given the slowdown in economic growth in the euro area,” the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) said in an interview with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini on Monday. published.
Further increase in prospects
The ECB has raised key interest rates four times in quick succession in the fight against inflation. In December, it eased off the accelerator and raised interest rates by just 0.50 percentage point after two massive rate hikes of 0.75 percentage point each in September and October.
In December, ECB President Christine Lagarde also announced several new rate hikes of half a percentage point each. The deposit rate, which is the final interest rate in the financial markets and which banks receive from the central bank for parking excess funds, is currently 2.0 percent.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
