JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming, Aug 26 (Reuters) - It may be too early for the European Central Bank to pause interest rate hikes now as an early stop in the fight against inflation could force the bank to exert even more pain on the economy later, Latvian policymaker Martins Kazaks said on Saturday.
The ECB has raised rates at each of its past nine meetings to arrest runaway inflation but policymakers are now contemplating a pause as recession risks loom, inflation slows and wage growth remains moderate.
ECB projections currently see inflation returning to its 2% target only in late 2025 and Kazaks argued this was too late.
Once rates peak, a plateau should be held for some time and the ECB should only start cutting rates when projections start showing inflation was at risk of coming back below 2%.
Markets see a rate cut only in the second half of 2024 and Kazaks said he did not consider this inconsistent with the macroeconomic outlook.
Persons:
JACKSON, Martins Kazaks, Kazaks, Balazs Koranyi, Marguerita Choy
Organizations:
European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Industry, Thomson
Locations:
, Wyoming, Latvian, Jackson Hole , Wyoming