ECB’s Simkus Says Next Rate Increase Needs to Be ‘Substantial’

The European Central Bank needs to deliver a “substantial” increase in interest rates at its final meeting of the year in December, despite a strong likelihood of a technical recession in the euro area, according to Governing Council member Gediminas Simkus.

Speaking Friday in Vilnius, Simkus said inflation remains too high and that new projections from the ECB will probably be revised up. Monetary policy remains accommodative, though rates are moving closer to the level that’s neutral for the economy, he said.