The minutes of the meeting show that ECB officials discussed whether it is necessary to implement a “moderate and restrictive” monetary policy to ensure that the inflation rate returns to the target level of 2%. The minutes of the ECB's July 22-23 policy meeting show that some officials would have supported interest rate hikes last month on the grounds that “the possibility of a situation where there is no reason to raise interest rates further is very low.” However, according to the minutes of the meeting released on Thursday, since there is still great uncertainty about the continuation of inflation, “all members are willing to support the decision to keep policy interest rates unchanged.” Currently, the inflation rate in the Eurozone is hovering around 3%, far higher than the ECB's 2% target. At the same time, economic growth is also stronger than expected. Therefore, the market generally expects that after the first rate hike in June, the ECB will raise interest rates again in two weeks. An eagle ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel told Bloomberg News this week that interest rates must rise further as the protracted conflict in the Middle East and unexpectedly strong economic growth increase the risk of rising inflation. However, another divisive Executive Council member, Piero Cipollone, warned that the ECB should not tighten its policies too much so as not to damage the economy. One of the key questions facing policymakers is whether interest rates on deposits, which are currently 2.25%, need to be raised to a level sufficient to curb economic activity. Chief economist Philip Lane said earlier that 2.5% is the upper limit of the neutral interest rate range.

The minutes of the meeting show that ECB officials discussed whether it is necessary to implement a “moderate and restrictive” monetary policy to ensure that the inflation rate returns to the target level of 2%. The minutes of the ECB's July 22-23 policy meeting show that some officials would have supported interest rate hikes last month on the grounds that “the possibility of a situation where there is no reason to raise interest rates further is very low.” However, according to the minutes of the meeting released on Thursday, since there is still great uncertainty about the continuation of inflation, “all members are willing to support the decision to keep policy interest rates unchanged.” Currently, the inflation rate in the Eurozone is hovering around 3%, far higher than the ECB's 2% target. At the same time, economic growth is also stronger than expected. Therefore, the market generally expects that after the first rate hike in June, the ECB will raise interest rates again in two weeks. An eagle ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel told Bloomberg News this week that interest rates must rise further as the protracted conflict in the Middle East and unexpectedly strong economic growth increase the risk of rising inflation. However, another divisive Executive Council member, Piero Cipollone, warned that the ECB should not tighten its policies too much so as not to damage the economy. One of the key questions facing policymakers is whether interest rates on deposits, which are currently 2.25%, need to be raised to a level sufficient to curb economic activity. Chief economist Philip Lane said earlier that 2.5% is the upper limit of the neutral interest rate range.