ECB rates ‘not at a peak’
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A recent change in European Central Bank (ECB) language does not mean that eurozone rates are near a peak, ECB Governing Council member Nicholas Garganas said in an interview published yesterday. «Regarding your question about changing the wording from ‘low’ to ‘moderate,’ it does not mean that we have reached what we would interpret as near the peak of the interest rate cycle,» he was quoted as saying by news agency Market News International. Nor did the ECB have a benchmark level for interest rates in mind; rather the ECB would not hesitate to act should inflation risks seem likely to materialize, he said. Garganas said that ongoing wage negotiations were the biggest risk factor for eurozone inflation, followed by the danger of further oil price increases. Soft economic indicators, such as survey data, confirmed the view that the eurozone’s robust growth would continue around potential, bolstered by rising employment and very favorable financing conditions for corporate investment, he said.
