European Central Bank governor signals further interest rate hikes

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - After the European Central Bank's decision on interest rate hikes for July and September, Governor Christine Lagarde said: "We anticipate that a gradual but sustained path of further increases in interest rates will be appropriate."

The bank's interest rate decisions will depend on incoming data, especially inflation figures, she said.

Telling how the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war affects the eurozone economy and causes uncertainty, she stressed: "But the conditions are in place for the economy to continue to grow and to recover further over the medium term."

She underlined that the bank will work to bring inflation back down to its target of 2%, adding that high inflation is a major challenge for all the countries.

"On the basis of our updated assessment, we decided to take further steps in normalizing our monetary policy," she added.

The bank will continue to take flexibility as an element of monetary policy "whenever threats to monetary policy transmission jeopardize the attainment of price stability,” she highlighted.