ECB Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said today, “as inflation in the euro area continues to run high, we need to act.” He expects the asset purchases to end in June and “will advocate a first step normalizing ECB interest rates in July.”
Nagel warned that risk of acting too late on inflation is “increasing notably”. “Delaying a monetary-policy turnaround is a risky strategy,” he said. “The more inflationary pressures spread, the greater the need for a very strong and abrupt interest rate hike.”