ECB President Christine Lagarde told Eurozone finance ministers that rising energy prices will not automatically trigger monetary tightening. “Interest rates will not change at the same time as energy prices,” she said in Dublin on Friday. “Because energy prices and their impact on prices will obviously also affect other factors, the most critical of which are economic growth and consumption. We will consider all the factors comprehensively, and there is no such mechanism for simultaneous linkage.” Eurozone inflation is currently above 3% and is expected to rise further to around 4%. Market pricing shows that interest rates will be raised at least three times in the next year by 25 basis points. Some officials have signalled further policy tightening, but have not disclosed the exact number of interest rate hikes.

ECB President Christine Lagarde told Eurozone finance ministers that rising energy prices will not automatically trigger monetary tightening. “Interest rates will not change at the same time as energy prices,” she said in Dublin on Friday. “Because energy prices and their impact on prices will obviously also affect other factors, the most critical of which are economic growth and consumption. We will consider all the factors comprehensively, and there is no such mechanism for simultaneous linkage.” Eurozone inflation is currently above 3% and is expected to rise further to around 4%. Market pricing shows that interest rates will be raised at least three times in the next year by 25 basis points. Some officials have signalled further policy tightening, but have not disclosed the exact number of interest rate hikes.