Core price gains, closely monitored by officials, moderated to 5.3% from 5.5% in July, according to a Bloomberg survey of 30 economists. Headline inflation is expected to have eased at a similarly pace — to 5.1%.
President Christine Lagarde, who’s said the mid-September decision will be between a hold and a hike, will offer her views on the current situation at a speech later Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is holding its annual get-together of policymakers. Some of Lagarde’s colleagues have urged restraint as higher borrowing costs threaten to tip the currency bloc into a recession. Governing Council member Mario Centeno told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that officials should be cautious in deciding on the next steps as risks for the economy that have previously been identified are now becoming reality.