FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s (ECB) chief economist on Tuesday backed further interest rate hikes at the ECB’s next meeting, but said the size would depend on incoming data, especially for the euro zone. Bank investigation.
ECB expected to raise rates in a row at 7th meeting on May 4 to bring down stubbornly high inflation in Eurozone, policymakers agree 25 – Watch discussions firsthand A source told Reuters that the rate hike would be a basis point.
Philip Lane, who is in charge of the ECB’s policy proposals, said a rate hike was “the benchmark” as supply bottlenecks eased and gas prices fell after tensions in the banking sector subsided.
“As of right now, two weeks later, I think the baseline is we should be raising rates in May, but we think in terms of size, I’m not going to set a default number,” Ryan told Bloomberg Said on TV.
He said the size of the rate hike would depend on data, including inflation for April, which will be released the day before the meeting, and GDP data for the first quarter of this year, which is scheduled to be released on the previous Friday.
But Lane specifically cited the ECB’s own Bank Lending Survey (BLS), in which banks are asked about the supply and demand for credit, as “most important”.
“This is the most important survey for us to see if we do see further tightening in credit conditions,” Lane added.
The next BLS is scheduled for May 2, along with Eurostat’s inflation forecast for April.
