for the first time in more than a year as it gauges whether an unprecedented series of hikes will succeed in subduing inflation.
Speaking in Athens, where the Governing Council gathered for one of its regular meetings beyond the ECB’s Frankfurt headquarters, President Christine Lagarde said “we have to be steady.” Like its peers in the US and the UK, the ECB hasn’t shut the door to further hikes, should inflation fail to ease quickly enough. But there’s little doubt among economists and investors that the high point for euro-zone borrowing costs has been reached following 10 back-to-back moves starting in July 2022.
“As is often the case with monetary policy, there is this transmission lifetime,” Lagarde said. “The assessment by our staff is that there is still more in the pipeline, and more to come to affect the real economy. And the assumption is that it will continue to unfold throughout the end of 2023 and first quarter of 2024.”