Lane points to two ECB interest rate hikes for September

The European Central Bank’s chief economist, Philip Lane, has signaled that eurozone interest rates will rise 0.25% in July and rise again by the same amount in September.

“Normalization has a natural focus on moving in units of 25 basis points, so the 25 basis point increases at the July and September meetings are a benchmark pace,” Philip Lane said.

He made his statements in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Cinco Días, the transcript of which was published today on the ECB’s website.

Professor Lane went on to say that the ECB’s current assessment is that inflation is in line with its 2% medium-term target.

He reiterated a statement made by ECB President Christine Lagarde that euro zone rates would be in positive territory by the end of the third quarter of this year, which is the end of September.

Interest rates on deposits at the ECB are currently at -0.5%.

The ECB will hold its next Governing Council meeting on June 9.

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