Central Banks

ECB’s Nagel Says Rate Cuts Won’t Be Automatic Once They Begin

  • Bundesbank chief says officials will have to remain ‘vigilant’
  • June is ECB’s preferred starting point for rate reductions

Joachim Nagel

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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The prospects for monetary easing by the European Central Bank are improving, though that doesn’t necessarily mean there’ll be a sequence of interest-rate reductions once the process begins, Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said.

With inflation set to return to the 2% target in 2025, the probability is increasing that there’ll be a first cut “before the summer break” in August, the Bundesbank president said Friday. But investors shouldn’t draw the conclusion that the same will happen at every subsequent meeting, he said.