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☆ ECB policymakers back another jumbo hike as inflation rises further
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Four European Central Bank policymakers on Thursday backed another big interest rate hike next month as euro zone inflation looked set for another record high, but they differed on whether it was time to think about mopping up cash from the economy. The ECB has raised rates by a combined 125 basis points over its past two meetings and promised further increases as inflation rises towards 10% and longer-term expectations edge above its 2% target. Strengthening the case for another 75-basis-point increase, data on Thursday showed inflation in Germany's most populous state jumped to 10.1% in September - the most since the early 1950s. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGermany will publish a nationwide flash estimate for September inflation later on Thursday, with a reading for the 19-country euro zone due on Friday. "My choice would be 75 (basis points)," ECB policymaker Gediminas Simkus told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of a conference in Vilnius.

☆ ECB policymakers put 75 bps hike on table for October
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FRANKFURT/HELSINKI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank may need to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points at its October meeting and move again in December to a level that no longer stimulates the economy, policymakers said on Wednesday. Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn, considered a moderate swing voter, also said that 75 basis points could be among the options. Outspoken policy hawk Robert Holzmann, Austria's central bank governor, also backed a 75 basis point move in an interview with Bloomberg TV, arguing that 100 basis points would simply be too much. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the "first destination" in the rate hiking cycle will be the "neutral" rate, which neither stimulates not slows growth. "In my view, we are heading towards the range of the neutral rate by Christmas," Rehn said.

The October move should then be followed by another step that takes the ECB to what policymakers call the neutral rate, which neither stimulates nor slows growth, ending a more than decade-long experiment with ultra-easy policy. "In my view, we are heading towards the range of the neutral rate by Christmas," said Rehn, 60, a potential Finnish presidential candidate who often tops opinion polls. While undefined, the neutral rate is seen somewhere between 1.5% and 2%, well above the ECB's 0.75% deposit rate. "For euro zone inflation, there is one driver above others and one anchor more important than others," Rehn said. While a downturn is increasingly likely to morph into a recession given sky-high energy prices and potential energy shortages, Rehn argued this was still a small price to pay.

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