The
ECB
should conclude the net purchases of securities "at the beginning of the third quarter" and the first rate hike will take place some time later: "this can mean a period of a few weeks".
This was stated by ECB President
Christine Lagarde
in Ljubljana.
After the first rate hike, "the normalization process will be gradual," she added.
Inflation prospects are changing in the medium term - the president said - in the face of structural factors such as supply bottlenecks that the war has exacerbated, but which will remain.
And in the face of this scenario "it is right that monetary policy returns to a more normal order".
Christine Lagarde explained that
underlying inflation measures "are almost all above 2%"
and the global economy appears poised to face "further negative supply shocks and cost pressures", even in the face of necessity. to "accelerate the green transition as a means of reducing dependence on hostile actors".