Central Banks
ECB Officials Try to Buy More Time for Decision on Rate Cuts
- Policymakers want more confidence inflation headed toward 2%
- Lagarde highlights importance of first-quarter wage bargaining
Paolo Gentiloni, Christine Lagarde, Paschal Donohoe and Pierre Gramegna during a news conference in Ghent, Belgium on Feb. 23.
Photographer: Simon Wohlfahrt/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
European Central Bank officials are becoming more vocal about the need for additional evidence that inflation is returning to their 2% goal before they can start lowering interest rates.
Speaking on Friday, several policymakers highlighted that monetary easing can’t begin until more data arrives in the coming months — especially on wages, whose growth remains high even after a slight moderation in the fourth quarter.